One of the Guys
by Fairy Roses
Summary: Do you have that one guy friend? You know. You turn to him for advice. He turns to you. Best friends. You're like one of the guys, he says. Oh. Did I happen to mention that you're totally in love with him? She smiles sadly as she says, I know. RW/SM
1. Revelation

This is an experimental piece. I've never written in this style before. It's present tense, first person narrative. Let me know what you think about it. Does it hurt the story or help it? Should I write differently? I'd appreciate your feedback on this one. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

One of the Guys

Chapter One: Revelation

I think it's rather ironic to begin a story with a revelation but that is how I wish to begin this narration. I fear that I will have to do a bit of unconventional narrating in order to explain, but I shall certainly do my best to make it as easy to understand as possible or my name isn't Rose Weasley.

Do you have that one guy friend? You know the one I mean. He's the one that you're really close to, the one to whom you can tell everything, the one who can tell everything to you. He asks how you're doing and actually cares about the answer. You look at each other in the middle of a class and you have that look or that gesture that is code for "I have a story I need to tell you. Remind me after class."

He gives you his honest opinion on all the guys you've dated; "You two are an odd couple. I never saw it coming." "He's so random and weird. I approve." "I don't like when he talks to you like that." "If you want me to beat him up, I will." You help him when he has problems with his relationships; "She's a girl, we act like that." "Buy her chocolate." "She probably doesn't mean it, it's just that time of the month." "If you want me to beat her up, I will."

He's your go-to guy, and you're his go-to girl. You cheer each other up when you need it. Not to mention you're honest enough that you can keep each other's egos in check. You laugh with (and at) each other. You're not afraid to be yourself and he's comfortable being himself. You don't judge each other. You're best friends.

Oh, and did I happen to mention that you're completely in love with him? He says "I love you" and you say "I love you" back. With his "I love you" however, you hear the unspoken, yet understood, "but" that mercilessly attaches itself there. "I love you, but I love you as a friend/sister" or something equally as frustrating.

Well, my revelation is that I have this very relationship with Scorpius Malfoy. We've been best friends since one little mishap in our first year. For the first few months that we knew each other, we were rivals in class; always comparing grades, seeing who could make the better potion, who could cast the better spell, so on and so forth. Well, it was around the end of January, we were both sick with the flu, and so we both missed a few classes and had to make up the assignments in the evening.

During one session, due to a bit of miscommunication, Scorpius and I both jinxed the professor that was teaching us _petrificus totalus_. Oh. We didn't know the counter-jinx yet, either. So there we sat, scared out of our minds that we would get into so much trouble for this, and yet… all we could do was laugh. The teacher (a disagreeable old witch with no sense of humor to speak of) eventually recovered, issued a week's worth of detention to each of us, and sent us on our way. Apparently, we were supposed to have gone and found a teacher to help instead of stay doubled over, laughing, in the classroom.

We've been inseparable ever since then. My cousins and I sort of adopted him into our family. We're all really close now. And I am just one of the guys.

I'm not sure when I first realized that I'm in love with him, it's hard to tell. We're so close that I really can't distinguish when I changed from loving and accepting him as part of my family to being in love with him and (secretly) wanting more from our relationship. It's a tricky business let me tell you. Anyway, it's not important when it happened as long as we've established that it has, indeed, happened.

I sit in the library now with my cousin, Lily. She's smarter than me. Her best friend is a girl, and she's dating the 'boy of her dreams.' I'm trying to help her develop good study habits so that she doesn't stress out for her O.W.L.s later on. Meanwhile, I myself am stressing out over N.E.W.T.s.

I see Scorpius enter the library and I smile. He nods and starts walking toward my table, making a gesture indicating Lily's presence. I catch on right away.

"Lily, can you go grab me The Big Book of Little Ingredients off the shelf?" Lily welcomes the excuse to get up and walk around. She hates doing homework and studying.

Scorpius sits down across from me, laying his bag on the table. "Hey."

"Hey. I finished the charts for Astronomy," I whisper as I place them on the table.

"The textbook exercises are all done for Ancient Runes," he slides the book out of his bag. The scene reminds me of haggling, or maybe gambling. We're raising the stakes. I see your Wednesday night homework and raise you a weekend's worth. "I can't let you copy my essay for Potions but I highlighted all the important points in my book."

Scorpius smiles. "I did the same for the Charms essay." I smile in return.

It is Friday after our first week of class. I wouldn't say that we were assigned a lot of homework for our first weekend back, but it is definitely more than I wanted. Homework is overrated anyway.

Lily is on her way back now. I shove the Ancient Runes book into my bag as Scorpius gathers up the Astronomy charts.

"Hey Squid," Lily greets Scorpius in the nickname we (Albus, James, and I) gave him in our third year after a rather embarrassing encounter with the giant squid in the lake. It bothered him at first, but he's friendly about it now. Besides, 'Squid' is a lot easier to say than 'Scorpius.' "Rose I can't find it," she reports.

"What were you looking for?" Scorpius asks.

"The Big Book of Little Ingredients," she sighs, sitting down again.

"Oh, look," I pick up the book in front of me. "Here it is. Sorry, Lily. I'm a bit flustered." I abuse the poor girl.

She shrugs and returns her attention to Scorpius. "You still dating that Hufflepuff? What was her name? Rachel?" Scorpius nods. "How's she doing? She's a sixth year now, right?"

"Yeah, and she's doing alright. How about you and that Zack kid?"

"Going on one year," she says proudly then regrets it immediately. I'd just recently broken up with Connor, and today would have been our first anniversary. Okay you found me out. I just got out of a long relationship, I'm sad, and that's why I _think_ that I'm in love with Scorpius.

At least, that's what I'm trying to convince myself. That would make things much simpler. Besides, Scorpius has a girlfriend. As his friend, I have to respect that.

They look at me pityingly and I barely notice. Tears are starting to line my eyes. I can feel them, and they are not welcome. Lily puts her hand on mine.

"What are you doing this weekend?" She asks.

"I don't know yet," I admit.

"You should come out with Zack and I. We're going with a bunch of other people to the Shrieking Shack," she suggests. "Al, Hugo, Fred, and a bunch of others. We're going to hang out on Saturday."

I shrug. "I might show up." James, Al and I were the first ones to find out about the Shrieking Shack. James had stumbled upon the Marauder's Map, smartly went to Uncle George instead of Uncle Harry, and learned how to use it. Uncle George always urges the lot of us to create mischief at school. We just go there to get away for the weekends; we get away from the professors, from the prefects, from all manner of annoying people.

The discussion ends, Scorpius leaves, and Lily and I stay to finish our work. We get done just before we have to hear Madame Pince (who's an old bat anyway) and her irritated foot tapping, heavy sighs, and not-so-discreet and rather elongated looks at the clock. The students that stay longer than us, however, I believe will have to suffer her wrath of impatience. It's late. We get back to our dorms and say goodnight to each other before going to our separate rooms.

My roommates are already asleep. I cast _lumos_, change into my pajamas, and climb into bed. I can't fall asleep. Thoughts of Connor race through my mind. I miss him and the tears to mourn the end of that part of my life finally come. I hadn't cried yet. I'd been holding back. Even right when it happened, I couldn't produce a single tear. They're coming now. They're soaking my pillow. I let my emotions loose.

I'm so angry with Connor! I'm so angry with myself for being so stupid! I thought he cared about me, and I made him to be this wonderful person in my head. I just couldn't see him for who he truly was. I ignored the fact that he wasn't considerate when it came to me and I made excuses for him when he didn't put me first before other things. Why couldn't I see it?

This passionate maelstrom of feelings continues for a while until I successfully exhaust myself.

When the tears slow, and the convulsions cease, I get up to blow my nose. As I do, I hear a light tapping on the window. An owl? Who would send an owl at this hour?

I recognize the brown eagle owl immediately and crack the window open to retrieve the message.

There is a rose drawn at the top of the page.

_You're beautiful. I mean what I said the other day. I know it hurts now, but keep your chin up. I truly think you'll be happier in the long run. I'm here for you._

_Love,_

There is an M at the bottom drawn so that the line furthest to the right curves upward into an arrow.

I smile to myself. I climb back into bed and fall asleep, the note still in my hand.

XXXX

Disclaimer: I do not encourage cheating, got it?

So what did you think? The story itself is a bit sad, but I am trying to have an underlying humorous tone with it. Let me know if the balance is okay, please.

Oi, I've become an insomniac, staying up writing Harry Potter fanfiction all night long on the weekends. This is seriously the third story I started working on in the past three days.


	2. Boys Will Be Boys

One of the Guys

Chapter Two: Boys Will Be Boys

I wake up, my eyes bleary from the tears and my thoughts a little muddled. The curtains on the window are pulled together in order to keep out the morning sun (the curse of having an east facing room). There is, however, one streak of light on my carpet from where the curtains don't quite meet. I wonder what time it is. From the other side of the room I hear a sigh and an aggravated tossing and turning.

I lay there for a while contemplating whether or not I should go with Lily today. I decide that it can't hurt. I get dressed and go down for breakfast. I make sure to grab my field bag before I go.

I find Lily sitting next to her best friend, Bell, and I join them. "Going with us today?" Lily asks. I nod, and wrap up a few pieces of toast and sausages to put in my bag. I sip some orange juice from a goblet and put the rest into my bag after casting a no-spill spell, of course. There's a small selection of fruit so I take a couple apples as well. The porridge, we found out, doesn't heat up very well. Satisfied, I stop filling my bag and begin my actual meal.

We used to go out to the Shrieking Shack in the early morning when it was still dark out, but then we'd miss breakfast and, if we ever did get caught, we had to come up with some excuse or other as to why we were out of bed so early on a Saturday. Now we just go after breakfast.

Lily, Bell, and I go there together. Al and a few of his friends are there already. "Is your brother coming?" Bell asks in what she hopes is a casual tone. I know she has a crush on him.

Lily answers for me. "Hugo said he would show up."

We make sure no one is looking when we walk over to the old tree stump and find the knot in the stump that opens up a secret passage. My parents told me about the tree that used to be there, an old willow that would attack anyone who came near it. Can you imagine a tree attacking a person? It's like something right out of a book.

We pass through the underground tunnel and see that some of our friends have already gotten there. "We really need to do something about cleaning up the entrance," Bell complains. "It's dirty and spooky."

"It's an absolutely perfect deterrent if someone were to accidentally stumble upon this place. I mean, what says 'Stay the Bloody Hell Away' more than a spooky tunnel, complete with cobwebs. I think we ought to bring a few more spiders down here, if you ask me."

I cringe at the thought of spiders. There are not many things that I am afraid of, but I could live happily if I never saw another spider again.

Lily and Bell sit themselves down with a couple girls from their year and I transfigure an old, broken rocking chair into a red pouf and go sit with the guys. We talk about how we want to spend our last year at Hogwarts.

"Think we'll win the Quiddich cup this year?" Nicholas, the captain of the Quiddich team, asks the group.

"That depends. What's the team looking like this year?" Albus asks.

"Like a bunch of Weasleys and Potters," Martin, the team's Keeper comments.

We all laugh, knowing that that was the case last year. Our family made up more than half the team. Nicholas starts to list off the positions and players. "There's me as the most amazing Seeker ever, Martin's got Keeper, we're keeping Hugo as Beater, of course, and I'm looking for to fill James' spot. Then I've got Lily and Albus as Chasers, and we need to try out one more for that spot since someone up and decided that studying was more important than Quiddich," he looks pointedly at me.

"Rose, come on, what are you thinking? This is school. Grades aren't important," Austin, a Ravenclaw seventh year, teases me.

They understand, though. I earned twelve O's my fifth year, and I want that same perfect record when I take my N.E.W.T.s.

"Got any other cousins that are any good at Quiddich and could be Chaser?"

"Chas is, what, in his second year now, right?" Albus asks me.

"That's right," I confirm. "Yeah, Chas is good. I can see a lot of potential in him."

"We can see a lot of potential in anyone who has red hair and the last name Weasley," Martin jokes.

Albus and I chuckle. "Like Uncle Percy," we both say just to be contrary.

I feel better about my decision to come out today. We spend our time telling stories, speculating about the future, and I teach a spell to everybody.

"I saw Aunt Ginny do this to my dad once when he made her mad," I explain. I cast the Bat Bogey Hex on my brother who had only just joined us. We share a laugh at Hugo's expense. Hugo wants to jinx me back, so I cast _expelliarmus_ and hold onto his wand for a bit before he realizes that never in the wide world would I let him hex me in front of people. He sits down, trying not to pout, and I hand his wand back to him.

Austin, the Ravenclaw Quiddich player, sits by me and we talk for a while. We talk about Quiddich, we talk about our crazy Potions professor, we talk about the N.E.W.T.s, we talk about my recent breakup with Connor, and he tries to do the guy friend thing where he tells me about how stupid Connor is and he's not worth it anyway. It's cute that he's saying this, and it actually makes me feel better. Eventually, enough time has passed for our stomachs to complain so we heat the breakfast food we pilfered for lunch and munch on the light meal. Austin and I are still talking. We hadn't ever talked much before, and so we told stories about our families. I get the feeling that he might have a crush on me. I'm not trying to sound arrogant, but I know he knows that I'm single. (We had just been talking about it) Not to mention his name was among a list that Lily had reported to me.

Here's what happened. Connor and I broke up a couple days before school began. Lily was sitting with Zack and a few other guys on the Hogwarts Express and somehow our breakup was brought up. According to Lily, the guys she sat with had considered that good news. I didn't know at first whether or not Lily was telling the truth or just trying to make me feel better, but now I'm thinking that there might be something to what she said.

As if on cue, I catch her eye and she gives me the "I told you so" look.

The rest of the day drifts by until our conversations can no longer be heard over the rumble of our stomachs. It's time to return for dinner.

I like Austin. He seems like a nice kid. I know a little about him. He was dating a girl from Hufflepuff not too long ago, I remember. I wonder what happened there. We make plans to meet later and go for a walk around the castle grounds after dinner.

I don't see Scorpius the entire day, nor do I see him now in the Great Hall. I want to thank him for sending me the note last night.

He's nowhere to be found. Austin and I walk around for about five minutes before we decide that that was a stupid idea and instead go down to the Quiddich pitch where we can be sheltered from the wind and he casts a spell so that we have a fire to keep us warm. I finally inquire about the girl he dated, and realize that I don't even know her name. Well, it turns out he and Melissa had been dating for about as long as Connor and I and they broke up around the same time as well. Apparently, she was going on and on about marriage and he just couldn't honestly see himself staying with her forever. He has one of those, 'I'm young and I need to enjoy it, not stay committed to the same person for five years only to realize that it's not meant to be forever,' attitudes about dating. I find it inspiring. Before, I had always thought that I would date people that I could see myself marrying. What other point is there to dating? Well, as Austin explains, it's all about finding out what you want in a relationship and, more importantly, what you don't want. It's an interesting concept that I may need to try out.

We talk until well after midnight and Austin walks me back to the portrait of the Plump Lady. (Others may know her as the Fat Lady.) As soon as he's out of sight, I run up to the Owlery and send a quick note. At the top I write the M with the curved line and arrow and I draw a rose at the bottom. The middle says simply:

_Thanks. I love you._

And my 'I love you' has no understood/unspoken/unwritten/unclear 'but.'

I mean what I mean.

XXXX

That's it for the second installment.

These chapters may seem a bit short. That's because, originally, I wrote them as one big chapter. I decided to split them.

Sorry it took so long for this! I'm going to work on having more regular updates. I've already started writing the third chapter.

Thanks for reviewing! shamilablack, (Thanks for reading my stories! I'm trying to make it not as sad in future chapters, but we will see what happens.) Missdagane, (Sorry, I did make you wait. Here it is now, though!) 100-percent-HP-obsessed, (I'm pretty sure I already messaged you, but the M is the sign for the zodiac Scorpio, and I thought it was cool that it could work for Malfoy as well.) hermy, (I'm flattered!) and happilycharmed, (I won't lie, I had this chapter finished, but had sort of forgotten about it. Thank you for reviewing. You reminded me that I also dislike it when authors write one chapter and then disappear from the face of the earth. Thanks!)


	3. Things Have to Get Bad

One of the Guys

Chapter Three: Things Have to Get Bad…

I awake Sunday morning with a smile on my face. I have plans to spend the day with Austin. I meet him in the Ravenclaw common room and he has tea made. We sip our hot drinks and he talks to me about Quiddich; strategies he wants to use this year, Ravenclaw's chances of winning the championship, and other such things. He loves the game, and I admire his passion. It makes me a little sad that I'm not going to play this year.

In the evening I meet up with Scorpius for our weekly study session in the library.

"Hey gorgeous," Scorpius tousles my hair when he sees me.

"Hey loser face," I answer and swat his hand away from my head.

"You seem in a good mood. I'm glad to see that."

"Yeah, I had a really great day yesterday. And today wasn't too bad either."

"That's right, you and Austin. I saw the two of you talking yesterday."

"You're spying on me now? Creepy."

"No, of course _I'm_ not spying on you. That's what my cronies are for."

"Oh, so we were being followed. I'm not crazy."

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that. We're still waiting on the final results to determine that one," he teases. "So, what's going on there, anyway? With you and Austin, I mean."

"We were just talking."

"Just talking? Really?" He cocks an eyebrow. "There's nothing else going on that you want to talk about?"

"Really. I'm not interested in dating him. He's fun to hang out with. I like talking to him," I say, which is true. He's nice, but I'm not ready to date anybody yet.

"I see. Fair enough. For what it's worth, though, if you do decide to date him, I approve," he says firmly.

"You approve?"

"Yes."

"Do you even know him?"

"I know him from Quiddich. At one of our games last year, every time we scored against them, he sang a different nursery rhyme. I think he might have lost a bet. So, yes, based on that, I approve."

I stifle a laugh. "Interesting approval system you have there. Thanks for that, I appreciate your concern. Anyway, how was your weekend?"

Scorpius rolls his eyes. "It wasn't too bad," he says in the tone that means he doesn't want to discuss it any further. Naturally, I ask more questions.

"Everything good between you and Rachel?" She's usually the reason for his eye rolling answers.

"Fantastic. So, let's talk about homework now, shall we? Let's start with Divination. I had a lot of problems with that."

"We aren't taking Divination this year."

"Oh yeah. Problems solved. Thanks, you're the best."

"Scorpius Alfonso Malfoy, what is bothering you? And we aren't studying until we talk about it," I say sternly.

"Alfonso isn't my middle name."

"My mistake. That must be my other best friend's middle name. Anyway, that's not my point."

"Whose middle name is Alfonso? I feel bad for whoever it is."

"Again, not the point."

"No, really. I had a good weekend up until about twenty minutes ago. We just… We just had a fight."

"What?"

"Yeah. It was stupid."

"Well, do you want to talk about it?" I nod my head, trying to guide him to the correct answer.

He shakes his head. "Not really." Scorpius is a slow one. This might take a while.

"Okay, I understand. So, what was the fight about?" I push. I know my boundaries with Scorpius, and I know how to read him. I can tell that he's itching to tell me something. This is the game that Scorpius Malfoy likes to play. He rarely ever comes out and says what he feels or what he's thinking, even if he truly wants to.

"Rose-"

"Scorpius," I fold my hands on the table in front of me, telling him that I'm not about to let him get out of this. He and Rachel fight a lot about stupid little things, but he always feels better after he talks to me about it.

He concedes with a grudging sigh. Good boy. "She's just upset that I had to cut our time short today to come and study with you."

"She what? Oh, no! I'm sorry! Scorpius, you didn't have to leave her," I feel bad for getting him into trouble with her. "We can study anytime. And, you know, it's not like we really need to study right now anyway. School just started."

"No, it's okay. I was with her all weekend long. We can deal with the time apart."

I know that Rachel already isn't my biggest fan, the same way and reason that Connor wasn't too fond of Scorpius. She can't get over the fact that her boyfriend's best friend is a girl who (now) doesn't have a boyfriend. Even when I did have a boyfriend, the crazy girl still didn't trust me.

Of course, what with the revelation I recently made, I can hardly blame her. Not that I would try anything! Seriously! I do have feelings for Scorpius. (Merlin, I have feelings for the boy, I can't believe that happened.) But Scorpius is my best friend, and his friendship means so much to me, and that's a bad thing to do to a friend. She has no need to worry.

"I'm sorry Scorpius."

"No, you shouldn't be sorry. You've not done anything wrong. And I told her. Damn it, I told her. When we first started dating I told her that you're my best friend and that I'm going to keep hanging out with you regardless. I told her that if she was going to have a problem with that, then she could forget it."

"You told her that?"

"Of course. Rosie," he grabs my hand and my stomach flips. "You're my best friend. No girl is ever going to change that."

I chuckle to myself. "I told Connor the same thing when we first started hanging out," I admit. That earns me a huge smile from Scorpius.

"By the way," Scorpius says with a half smile, "I don't think that Rachel and I are going to be together much longer." He won't say anymore on that subject (not even after my poking and prodding) so we start studying.

XXXX

The rest of the week goes by like any other and I don't see Austin at all. Well, that's a lie, I see him in passing every once in a while, and we have a couple classes together, but we don't get much of a chance to talk. Maybe I'll see him this weekend, maybe I won't. It's fine either way. Really.

I'm sitting in Charms when I realize that I'm staring off into nothingness. Nicholas kindly brings me back to consciousness and at that moment, for whatever reason, I'm reminded of a particular funny incident we had during Quiddich practice last year. He was Seeker, of course, but I was filling in for James (who was sick) as Beater. Well, long story short, it turns out I'm a pretty good shot. I'll never forget the way he spun on his brand new Firebolt V that he was so proud to own. I giggle to myself and the professor dismisses us. I realize I haven't heard the assignment so I need to stay after and copy it off the board.

Nicholas approaches me. "What's so funny?"

I shake my head. "Just something random that I remembered."

"You're a strange one, Rose."

"I've heard that before, believe it or not."

"Oh, I believe it."

I gather my books and Nicholas walks with me.

It's my favorite time of the week. Not only is it Friday afternoon, but also we've just finished the last class of the day. It's time to do homework and study with Lily in the library! That's where I'm heading right now and I become aware that Nicholas is still walking with me.

"So, what are your plans for the weekend?" I ask, trying to make polite conversation.

"Oh, you know, I'm probably going to go to the Shack tomorrow and then go to Hogsmeade on Sunday. How about you?"

"I haven't got any plans yet," I say truthfully.

"Would you like to come with me? I'm assuming I'll see you at the Shack, but do you want to come to Hogsmeade with me? They just opened that new bookstore. I want to check it out."

He knows my weakness. "Oh, that opens this weekend! Sure, I'll go with you."

"Good. It's a date, then. I'll meet you Sunday morning at ten in the common room," and with that he hurries away.

What? A date? I didn't agree to any such thing.

On the other hand, it could be fun. Nicholas is a rather interesting boy. He's very charismatic (some might say arrogant, but he's been my friend for a long time, so I find it endearing).

XXXX

I go to the Shrieking Shack with Lily and Bell on Saturday morning. All of my relatives are already there, along with some others from Gryffindor. There are also a couple Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students (no sign of Austin yet) and I'm glad to see Scorpius among the Slytherins. Rachel was sitting in a corner with a few of her friends but, upon seeing me, she walked over and sat next to Scorpius. She looks less than amused by the conversation but sits quietly and listens to the boys speak.

"Hey girls," a few of the guys greet us. Nicholas pats the space on the couch next to him. I sit down and join in the conversation. Albus and Hugo start talking about Uncle George and all the shenanigans he pulled with his twin, Fred, while they attended Hogwarts. I help them remember some details. Eventually, it's time to explain Umbridge, and what a terrible toad of a woman she was. I can impersonate her very well so I'm volun-told to tell a lot of the Umbridge stories. We all share a good laugh and even Rachel lets herself smile.

This is around the time Austin arrives. Finally bored with us, Rachel returns to the corner and with the girls and joins their discussions. I'm eventually beckoned over to them. One of the girls, a Ravenclaw, speaks. I know her because her older sister is one of Connor's good friends.

"Have you talked to Connor lately?" She asks.

This is unexpected. "No, I haven't seen him since before school began. I think he's traveling in Spain right now, but I know that he plans on working at St. Mongo's come January. Why do you ask?"

"Oh. He's my sister's friend and I'm just curious."

Rachel, knowing that Connor is still a sore subject with me, sits there with a satisfied smirk. She's a real treat, that one.

So, why is Scorpius dating her? Honestly, she used to be a really sweet girl. We used to get along. I don't know what happened to change all of that, but she turned into an absolute troll towards the end of last year. We were hoping that she would mellow out over the summer. Apparently that didn't happen.

Aside from that it's a fun day. I'll be honest. I'm flirting with a few of the boys here. It's nice not feeling guilty about that. It's so refreshing not having to pay attention to just one boy.

I leave early, remembering that I'm supposed to meet with Professor Longbottom. I promised to help him prepare a project that we'll be working on this week in Advanced Herbology. Nicholas walks me back to the castle where we part ways.

"Remember, common room at ten! I'm looking forward to it. See you then," he says quickly before running into the castle.

XXXX

"Right on time," Nicholas comments as if surprised that a girl would ever be on time for anything.

"What can I say? The books are waiting."

We leave and I'm pleasantly surprised by the weather. It's probably the last warm day that we'll have for a while. On our way I notice that there are a couple of other students on their way to Hogsmeade as well.

I'm reminded of something. "My dad says that we're lucky when it comes to visiting Hogsmeade."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, when he was in school, there was always so much danger, they rarely got to go, and all their Hogsmeade visits were scheduled. They couldn't just go whenever they wanted. They weren't even allowed to go until their third year."

"That's right," Nicholas says. "I remember my mum saying something about that. That would be terrible."

We get to the bookstore and Nicholas and I split up. We both like reading, but our tastes in books differs greatly. I don't see him again for a couple of hours when I'm finally ready to make my purchase.

When shopping for books, I like to do the walking test. As long as I can see where I'm walking and the books' weight isn't hindering the process, then I don't have too many books. I'm pushing it today. Nicholas, on the other hand, has two books. "I'm picky," he explains.

"Are you hungry?" He asks after I pay for my things.

"A little bit."

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks, then. My treat," I thank him and we continue on our way. Nicholas carries half my books and then, like a true gentleman, he's about to open the door for me. The door swings open suddenly, though, before he can touch it.

"Oh, oops. Sorry Rose," it's Bell. She's on her way out. "Here, let me get that for you," she holds the door open for the two of us.

"Thanks Bell," I smile. I look around. "Is Lily with you?" It's very rare that the two of them are apart.

"No, she didn't come out today."

"Oh. Well, we'll see you later," I say goodbye and follow Nicholas to a table in the center of the room. I set my books down on the floor and sit down across from him.

"Rose?" I turn around to see Scorpius.

"Hey you. Are you here by yourself? Sit with us."

"Oh, thanks but I already ate. I'm about to leave. Anything good?" He indicates the books I stowed under the table.

"I sure hope so," I comment.

"Yeah, me too. It might excuse your ignoring me earlier," he says and I'm confused. "I saw you in the bookstore, but apparently you didn't hear or see me," he explains. I have absolutely no idea what he's going on about. I don't doubt that it happened, though. "You're really something, Rosie. Don't worry about it. I know how you are when you look at books. But, I do have something I want to talk to you about," he says cryptically.

Remembering what he'd said earlier this week about Rachel, I let out a small gasp and try to hide my smile. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you about it later," he promises. "See you tonight?"

I nod, and I've never been more excited about our Sunday study session.

I enjoy the rest of my time with Nicholas, he mocks me mercilessly for my decision to quit the team and I'm in such a good mood that I just take it.

"What? No smartass quips today? You're slipping, Weasley."

Smiling to myself, I don't even bother to explain.

XXXX

I arrive at the library and, for the first time ever Scorpius is there before me and waiting. I have a huge smile on my face when I see him, then become aware of how ridiculous I might look and decide to tone it down a bit. "So, what's going on?"

"Rachel and I broke up," he says, confirming what I'd already guessed.

"What? Oh, no. She was such a darling."

Scorpius scoffs. "You are a funny girl, Rose Wilhelmina Weasley."

"Wilhelmina isn't my middle name," I argue with a chuckle.

"Definitely not the point. Anyway, let me tell you about Rachel. I just got sick of everything and decided I don't want to deal with all the fights, or her jealousy, or anything else anymore. You missed it yesterday at the Shack. She tried to get me to leave with her shortly after you left. I'm pretty sure the only reason she went in the first place is because she knew you'd be there. She's mental. But I digress. I told her I didn't want to leave, walked outside with her, told her what was on my mind, and we broke up. It sounds harsh, but it was all rather civil."

He looks almost proud of himself. I look down at the table to try and calm my emotions. I've been waiting for this. "How are you doing?" I ask because, regardless of my feelings toward their relationship, I know that breakups aren't easy. I want to make sure that my friend isn't hurting.

"I'm fine," he shrugs.

"Really? You're doing alright?"

"I'm excellent, really. Now, I have a question for you," a smile plays across his lips.

"What's up?" I can hardly breathe. My heart is beating a billion and seventy two times a minute and I feel it might explode. I'm just sure that this is it. He's going to tell me that he thinks of me as more than just a friend and he's going to ask me to marry him! I mean, be his girlfriend. He's going to ask me to be his girlfriend. No silly thoughts about marriage, we're much too young. Ha… ha…

He looks as if he's searching for the right words to say, and I want so badly to help him out with that but I hold my tongue. Finally, he speaks. I hold my breath. "What do you know about Bell?" Well, maybe he needs more help than I thought. Those aren't the right words at all.

I'm still unable to breathe properly so I speak quickly. "Bell is Lily's best friend, so you know she's a good person. She's a year ahead of Lily, a year behind us. She's a Gryffindor, obviously. Um, she has a really pretty singing voice, but otherwise she's a quiet girl. Why do you ask?"

A slight blush rises in his cheeks. "Well, I think I'm starting to like her."

Well, those are most certainly not the right words.

"What?" Oops, that came out a lot harsher than I meant it. But I can't help it. I'm having a lot of trouble believing what I'm hearing.

"Yeah, I went back to the Shack after Rachel left, and I ended up talking to her for the rest of the night. We really hit it off, and we went out today too. She's," he stops and stares off into space. "I don't know what it is, but I can feel it. We have really great chemistry," he can't seem to stop smiling and I have mixed feelings about that. "Anyway, I think I want to date her but I wanted to hear what you thought of her first. You know her a bit better than I do. And I trust your judgment."

"Yeah. Oh, yeah. She's a great person I can understand why you'd like her. She's… great," Am I really saying this? The words are just spilling out of my mouth. My brain, all the while, shouts quite an opposing sentiment.

"Good," he looks so happy. I love seeing him happy. "Thanks, Rosie. Thank you so much. You're so easy to talk to. Oh, and don't worry. I explained to her that we are best friends and that I will hang out with you and talk to you whenever I want to and she knows you so she's fine with it."

Again, his smile won't go away.

"I don't know what it is about you, Rosie. I'm so glad you're my best friend. You're like one of the guys, you know?"

It's not meant to be offensive but his words hurt me more than he will ever realize. I can feel a physical pain. My heart aches as a bitterness burns through me. I smile sadly. "I know."

XXXX

Oh, man, that's a rough way to end a chapter, but there you have it. Next installment should be up in a week. Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reviewing! Kat.1600, (Poor Rose, in deed. I'm being downright cruel to the girl.) falling-in-the-black, (I like where this story's going too! It's fun to write!) Falling Hope, (Thanks for cooing at my story! Hope I updated soon enough for you.) JessFantasy16, (Oh, yes. Strap in, there will be many loops on this rollercoaster of a story!) three, (I meant that Lily's smarter because her best friend is a girl and she's not going to fall in love with her. Sorry, that wasn't clear. I'm glad you thought it was amazing, though.) PadfootPatronus, (Yeah, Austin's a good guy. Makes it hard not to like him, right? Oh, the drama!), happilycharmed, (Thanks, I appreciate your feedback! Yeah, I pretty much put humor into anything. I can't help it. By the by, I wonder if you noticed how easily influenced I am. You tell me I need to update, I update. You say the last chapter was short, this one's longer. Yeah...) and iness, (Yeah, you're right. It does seem like all they do is date. Um, it works for the purpose of my story.)


	4. Before They Can Get Worse

One of the Guys

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with The Incredible Hulk. (This may seem like a random statement now, but trust me. It's legitimate.)

One of the Guys

Chapter Four: …Before They Can Get Worse

"You're like one of the guys, you know?"

It's not meant to be offensive but his words hurt me more than he will ever realize. I can feel a physical pain. My heart aches as bitterness burns through me. I smile sadly. "I know."

I'm able to keep myself from letting Scorpius see how awkward this has made me. Actually, I think I'm in shock. Complaining about a headache that doesn't exist, I cut our session a little short after we get through some studying. He leaves to go visit Bell and I sit there "to clean up my books and stuff."

I cannot believe what I just heard. My head is pounding, I have a sick feeling in my stomach, and it feels as if my heart is in my toes. My entire body hurts from the rush of emotions I'm feeling. I'm angry, I'm upset, I'm confused, I'm sad, I'm hurt, I'm all of these things and it is not at all pleasant, to say the least. I don't even bother trying to stand up. My legs probably won't even work right now.

I barely notice as someone sits down across from me. He clears his throat and I finally acknowledge him.

"Oh, hi Austin. Sorry, I'm a bit out of it," I say.

"Everything okay?" He looks genuinely concerned.

"I don't know yet," I say honestly. "I have a lot going on up here right now," I tap my head.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Not particularly."

"Fair enough. Let's talk about something else then. How was your weekend?"

"Not too bad," I shake my head to clear it. "I went to that new bookstore earlier today. You know the one that just opened up in Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah," he grins. "I definitely saw you there. I tried to say hi, but-"

I hang my head. "Austin, do not take offense to that. Apparently, when I'm shopping for books, I end up ignoring everyone. Scorpius said that he saw me too and I honestly did not notice that he was there. And that's my best friend," a pain cuts into my heart.

"I know. I saw him. He's actually the one that explained to me that it was a lost cause to try and talk to you. I waited around for almost half an hour but then I ended up leaving to go get something for lunch."

"I'm sorry, Austin," I start to apologize but he interrupts me.

"Oh, don't be sorry. I thought it was cute."

I roll my eyes but there's a smile on my face. Austin points to my bag. "Are you getting ready to leave?"

I nod. "I just finished studying."

"Can I walk you to your room?"

It's such a simple gesture, but it makes me feel so great at this point. He even goes so far as to offer to carry my bag for me. I'm sorry, did I say offer? I mean insist. He insists on carrying my bag and I'm not about to argue.

For whatever reason, I start thinking about Connor. When's the last time Connor ever did anything so polite for me? Um, maybe the first couple of weeks we dated. That's right, it didn't last long. That should have been the first indication that our relationship wasn't as good as I thought it was.

Austin hands my bag back to me when we get to the plump lady's portrait. (Other people call her fat, but I prefer the word _plump_.)

"So, let's try not to let another week pass before we talk again, okay?" Austin says casually. "By the way, I heard about what that girl said to you yesterday at the Shack. My sister was sitting near them and she told me the impression she got from the whole scene," he answers my unspoken question about how would he know.

"You looked really upset when you came and sat back down with us, but I didn't want to say anything then. Well, from what my sister tells me, it was just something childish that Rachel thought would be amusing. Don't take any of the stuff she does personally. I don't know what issues she has with you, and it's not my place to ask, but, in my opinion, she must have something wrong with her if she doesn't like you. You're so sweet and easy to get along with."

As he says all this, he puts a hand on my shoulder and lets it slide slowly down my arm until he reaches my hand, which he briefly squeezes. I wonder if he knows how comforting I find his touch. I can't seem to respond to what he just said so we just tell each other goodnight. I linger in the corridor to watch him walk away.

XXXX

It's a new week and I'm doing what I can to keep busy, to stay distracted, to avoid thinking about Scorpius. I try my best to act as if nothing is different when we inevitably sit next to each other in class. I'm a rather convincing actress if I do say so myself.

"How's everything going?" I ask when he arrives.

"Everything's going really well," Scorpius has that huge stupid smile on his face as he says this. What? I'm not bitter. "How about you?"

"Not too bad."

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Oh, I'm not sure yet."

"Do you want to hang out?"

"Hmm," I say, thinking. I don't know if I want to or not. On the one hand, I'd love to spend time with him. On the other hand, I'd hate to spend time with him. I don't know how I'm going to act around him. I might be mean, regardless of whether I truly want to be or not. I might leave subtle hints about my feelings toward him.

It's too soon, I decide. I haven't quite come to terms with this whole situation yet.

I see Nicholas out of the corner of my eye.

"I think I actually have plans tonight. Hold on a second," I walk over to where Nicholas is reading one of the books he just bought. "Hey there."

"Hey," he sets down his book. "What's up?"

I rest my elbows down on his desk and lay my chin in my hands. "What are you up to tonight?" I try to keep my voice low so that Scorpius can't hear our conversation.

"I'm ridiculously busy."

"Really?"

"No, not really. What do you want to do?"

We talk for a bit and make some plans to meet later.

"Sorry, Scorpius," I say. "Nicholas and I have plans. I couldn't remember if it was tonight or tomorrow, but there you have it."

"Oh, I see," he looks at the front of the classroom as the professor strolls in. "Maybe some other time." His face is a mask and I can't read what he's feeling. He has such a cold demeanor sometimes. I think that he might get that from his father.

"Yeah. Maybe."

I don't talk much to anyone for the remainder of class.

XXXX

"We could play chess," Nicholas suggests.

"Do you have a set?" I ask. I'm sitting on the windowsill in the common room, watching as raindrops race each other down the glass. We've been trying to think of things to do.

"Sure do. I'll be right back."

We had planned on walking down to the lake but that's when the storm began.

He returns and we sit down in front of the fireplace. I annihilate him and the game is over in three minutes. "Want to play again?" I ask with a devilish grin.

"Bloody hell," is all he can say.

"My dad taught me how to play. He's really good. Want to play again?"

"I don't think there'd be much of a point," he says. "How about we play a card game?" He runs upstairs to grab cards.

The portrait opens and Lily walks through with Bell. "Hey there, Rose," Lily greets me.

"Hi," Bell says to me then turns to Lily. "I have to meet someone. I'll see you later."

Lily sits down on the floor in front of me. "So. What do you think about it?"

"About what?" I'm quite positive that I know what she's talking about. I just don't want to say it.

"What do you think about Bell and Squid?"

"Er, it was rather unexpected. I didn't even know they knew each other. And I thought Bell liked Hugo." 

"Apparently she's over Hugo. Anyway, she just met Scorpius at the Shack last weekend. They seemed to really hit it off. They talked for hours and, you know Bell, she's not usually very talkative."

"Right. Scorpius tells me that he feels like the two of them have great chemistry. I'm really happy for him," I keep my tone level so that I don't betray any emotions.

Lily has an unreadable look on her face as she nods and contemplates my words. "You know, I always thought it'd be the two of you who ended up together," she confesses. "When you and Connor broke up, I figured it would only be a matter of time before Squid noticed how badly Rachel was sucking the life out of him and then realize that the two of you are-"

"Best friends," I interrupt her. "We're best friends, Lily. And I'm okay with that." I am.

I think.

I'm not going to be one of those girls who give an ultimatum to her best friend. I'm not going to tell him that I want more, and, if I can't have it, then I don't want to be friends at all. I wouldn't be able to stand that. We CAN be friends and I'll be content with that.

"Right. I know. Best friends. You two amaze me," she stands up and walks over to the window.

"How do you mean?" I turn in my chair to look at her.

Her back is to me. "The two of you, proving that a guy and girl can be _just_ friends. I think I'd lose my mind if Zack's best friend were a girl, unless she was someone that I know and trust. I don't know how you do it."

I don't know either.

"I still think it will happen, though," Lily says rather unexpectedly as Nicholas runs back into the room. "I still think you two will end up together."

I don't know how to respond to that comment. Lily leaves me sitting there, speechless, and heads back up to her room.

XXXX

I avoid Scorpius for the rest of the week. It's for the best. Like I said, I don't know how I'll act around him. I don't want anything to be weird between us. I even spend Saturday in the library so that I won't risk meeting him elsewhere. Scorpius usually only goes there on Sundays.

On Saturday, I agree to meet with Austin so we can study. We share a couple butter beers while we work. By the way, 'study' is actually code for 'talk'.

Don't worry. We get in some schoolwork here and there when we need to take breaks from our conversation.

It turns out Austin's the oldest of five. He has four younger sisters, one's a year behind us, and the other three are under the age of ten. His father passed away two years ago. He was an auror and was killed after an accident with a dark magic item. Now his mother works at the Ministry of Magic and does her best to support her family, but they have to live with Austin's grandparents. Austin can't wait until he gets a real job and can help raise his sisters. He has a strong sense of responsibility to his family and I respect him so much for it. Family is a very big deal to me.

"Anyway," he opens up a textbook. "Let's look over this chapter."

"Sounds like fun," and I'm not being sarcastic. I love learning. We're already five chapters ahead in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

He chuckles to himself and shakes his head.

"What?"

"You. You should have been in Ravenclaw."

"I was destined to be in Gryffindor," I say in dramatic tones. "I wouldn't want to disappoint the family, now would I.

Austin has such a charming smile. I could stare at him all night.

"I have an idea," he says suddenly. He closes his textbook. "Follow me," he grabs my hand and pulls me behind him. "There's a better way to study this chapter," he explains.

We go to the back of the library and I start looking around at the books. I don't see anything that could possibly relate to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Austin stops abruptly and looks around. He turns to face me, grabs my arms, takes one last look over my shoulder, and then gazes into my eyes. The next three seconds pass so slowly. Okay, that sounds ridiculous. Three seconds pass in three seconds. They played out slowly, though. Allow me to explain how the seconds progressed.

The first: I'm searching Austin's face. I see the passion in his dark brown eyes. He has beautiful eyes. I notice how smooth his face appears. I'm intrigued by the curve of his inviting lips as they form a smile.

The second: His face comes ever closer to mine. I breathe in (Merlin knows I've forgotten how to exhale) and I take in the scent of butter beer mixed with old books. His eyes close and I notice that he has very long eyelashes. What a strange thing to notice at this time.

The third: I feel his kiss and let my eyelids flutter shut.

His hands slide up my arms and he applies a slight pressure on my shoulders before moving one hand to entangle itself in my hair. I cup his face in my hands and discover that it _is_ smooth.

He pulls away and my eyelids feel so heavy, it takes effort to open them again. An enchanting smile on his face, he moves my hand to his mouth and plants a kiss there.

"I honestly don't think this is going to help either of us study," I say when I can finally breathe properly again. He kisses my forehead sweetly.

We grudgingly return to our seats and spend the next few minutes staring at our schoolwork, avoiding eye contact with each other. It takes me a while before I realize that my book is upside down.

We are able to stumble through one more chapter. When we get up to leave, I grab his wrist and make him look at me.

"I know," he says before I say anything. "You don't want to date anyone right now, and I'm okay with that. I'm not really looking to date anyone either."

I'm slightly relieved that he feels that way.

For as mad as I am, I admit to myself that I do want to hold out in case Scorpius does ever realize how I feel about him.

Then again, I can still feel Austin's kiss, and I'm willing to bet that I'm still blushing from it. He seems like a quality guy.

XXXX

Something startles me awake on Sunday morning. I have no idea what time it is, only that I'm awake before the sun. I hear what originally woke me; there's an owl tapping at my window. Groggily, I stumble my way over there and open it a crack. The bird has a small scroll tied to his leg, of course, but he's also carrying a pink rose in his talon. I take the note and the owl extends the flower toward me as well.

I walk back to my bed and sit down before opening the scroll. Finding my wand on my nightstand, I cast _lumos_ to read it.

_You're beautiful._

There's no name on it.

I do love flowers. I wonder who could have sent it. Well, I can rule out Scorpius. He has been known to send me flowers when I'm upset or if we had just had a fight, but he knows that daisies are my favorite. The rose is pretty, though.

My stomach begins to growl. I forgot to eat dinner last night. Something about a having a feeling of butterflies. It's probably too early to get breakfast in the Great Hall, but I know that the House Elves are always happy to feed the students at all hours of the day. I change out of my pajamas and pull my hair into a ponytail before making my way to the kitchen.

I walk down the stairs as carefully and quietly as I can. The common room is dark but for an eerie light cast by the moon. A movement catches my eye.

I turn my head to get a better look.

There's something moving in the shadows.

I yelp.

I'm about to cast a spell, any spell. Hell, I'm so startled that I'd cast _alohamora_ at this point.

"Whoa!" The thing shouts at me.

"What the bloody hell?" My hand flies to my chest. My heart is racing. "Nicholas? Is that you? What the bloody hell are you doing out of bed at this hour?"

"Rose? Merlin, you scared me," he steps into the moonlight.

"Why are you awake?"

"Why am I awake? What about you?"

"I got woken up by a late night delivery," I start to explain. Now I'm wondering if maybe Nicholas sent the flower to me. That might explain why he's awake.

"Late night delivery? Sorry, I'm not following."

Or maybe he didn't send it. "There was an owl knocking on my window."

"I see. It's rather early to be getting an owl, isn't it?" He looks at his watch.

"Rather early to be awake without a purpose, too, don't you think?"

"What? Oh. Right. I went out for a run and now I'm about to head upstairs to take a bath. I'm usually up at this hour everyday."

"You're mental," I graciously inform him. Scorpius is the same way. He loves waking up early everyday to go work out. I personally hate running. I also hate waking up early on purpose.

"How do you think I keep in such amazing shape?" Nicholas flexes his muscles this way and that. "So, you said that the owl came and woke you up when you were up there?" He points up the stairwell as he deepens his voice and tries to exaggerate his biceps. He then switches arms. "Are you going that way now?" I'm reduced to a fit of giggles. In all honesty, Nicholas does have a great body, but it's all lean muscle. To see him acting like he's The Incredible Hulk has me in hysterics.

"You're too much," I say when I can finally speak again. "Anyway, I'm going to sneak down to the kitchen to grab a snack. Do you want me to grab something for you?"

"That'd be great. Bring it back here and we can eat together."

"Sounds like a plan. Later," I leave him in the common room. The corridors are quieter and emptier than I have ever seen them before. I walk slowly, trying not to make a sound. It's nearly impossible. Even the softest footsteps create a dull thud that echoes all around me. I'm completely alone. I don't remember Hogwarts being quite this large. I feel as if an hour passes before I reach the kitchen.

The House Elves are happy to see me and pack me a basket filled with delicious treats. I thank them and let them know that I'm knitting socks for all of them for Christmas. (I started this project at the beginning of the year. I should be done by the time December rolls around.) I've always been on very friendly terms with the Elves. I give them gifts and they give me extra goodies whenever I ask.

I'm on my way back to the Gryffindor tower when I look out a window that I pass. I can see the Quiddich stadium and I notice a boy walking from there toward the castle. I can instantly tell who it is based on a number of things. First of all, he has a very unique strut. Secondly, with the help of the emerging sun, I can discern platinum blond hair. I assume Scorpius just finished exercising with the equipment in the stadium. He spends a lot of time down there.

I hear footsteps. I look around and see someone cross the hallway. It's that girl from the Shack last weekend, the girl whose sister is good friends with Connor. She's carrying a piece of parchment and walking quickly.

I know I shouldn't, but I want to follow her. I creep down the hall and peer the way I watched her go. She disappears into a teacher's classroom. I hear low voices and I try to get closer.

She's talking to Professor Pallas, the Ravenclaw Head of House.

"Oh, that's very exciting," I hear the professor say.

"It is!" She agrees. "The owl arrived this morning telling me the news."

"I can't believe Paris is getting married. I remember when she first came to Hogwarts. I knew she was a bright student the instant I met her."

"The wedding is going to be on a Saturday at the end of November. Will I be able to go?"

"So soon? Didn't you say she just get engaged a few days ago? Well, I guess when you're in love," her voice fades into a dreamy tone. "Anyway, of course you'll be able to go home. We'll go talk to the Headmistress tomorrow morning. I'm so happy for Paris. And she's getting married to Connor Brooks, what a match!"

Professor Pallas has more to say, but I don't hear a word of it. I feel as if I'm about to be sick. Connor. Connor? Connor is getting married? We only broke up less than two months ago. He's getting married?

I run away from that spot. I need to find Scorpius and talk to him. I need to tell him what's going on.

I need him.

I drop the basket I'm carrying and food spills all over. I collapse onto the ground to try and clean it up. I'm breathing heavily. My hands are shaking. Bitter tears are stinging my eyes.

He loved me. He told me only two months ago that he loved me. Two months ago he told me that he would always love me. Two months ago we were discussing our future together. How the bloody hell does someone go from telling one person 'I love you' to wanting to marry someone else? How the hell does that happen?

I'm so angry! I feel like such a fool! How could I have possibly believed him? How? Why? This doesn't make any sense to me. Two months. Two bloody months!

I swipe furiously at the tears streaming down my face. I'm such an idiot! Why wouldn't he have told me about getting married? I know I shouldn't be angry, but damn it, I am! I know I broke up with him. I know. But he… Damn it! He made me feel so guilty! He made me feel like I broke his heart! And then he goes and pulls this! Damn him!

"Rose?" I look up to see who's spoken. I stand up, sprint to where he's standing, and throw myself into his arms. "Rose, Rose, what's wrong?" He's holds me tightly and rocks me back and forth. "Come on," he hushes me. "Come on. Let me help you clean this up," he collects all the food and places it back into the basket. "We can still eat this," he smiles. "No real harm done. Let's go back up to the tower. We can go talk in my room if you want to. I can kick my roommates out. Let's go," Nicholas helps me walk. I'm shaking with a rage that is completely unwarranted. There's no way I should be this angry.

But I am.

Nicholas is true to his word. He sends three very tired, very groggy boys out of the room and sits down with me. I tell him everything. I feel a little better after getting out all of that anger, after getting all of that off my chest, but…

I want my best friend.

I want to talk to Scorpius.

XXXX

Ouch, poor Rosie! She's a tough girl, though. I promise she'll be okay! Meanwhile, I know I didn't come out and say who sent that flower, it'll be revealed next chapter. It's all part of my super-secret plan!

Anyway… Thanks for reviewing! JessFantasy16, (I'm glad that you appreciate what I'm doing by making Scorpius painfully oblivious to life. I mean that's realistic, right? Most boys are pretty obtuse, lol. I'm just kidding. I'm a big fan of the male species.) 00jade, (Stupid Scorp is right, but at the same time, you can hardly blame him. How's he supposed to know that his best friend all of a sudden changed her mind about her feelings toward him? These sorts of things are so frustrating!) PadfootPatronus, (Thanks so much for complimenting that part about Rose's feelings. I put a lot of effort into trying to get the words just right so they'd convey her emotions, and your review made me very happy! As for Nicholas and Austin, Austin's back! And Nicholas… he's a good guy. Yep. Good guy. I'm really glad you enjoyed that last chapter, I hope this one was good for you, too!) happilycharmed, (Ha ha, I'm going to trust you not to try and control my mind. I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter. I made it extra long just for you! This one was a decent length as well. As for Austin, I needed to keep the 'drama with other boys' factor down so that Rose didn't have too much to handle. Not yet anyway. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!) brokenstitches, (Poor Rosie's right! And it only got worse for her! I'm a cruel writer. Sadistic. Definitely.) Michelle Felton, (Er, I'm glad you didn't just jump over it, too. I'm even gladder that you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to read!) and Rotae, (You are quite welcome! Happy to write exactly the kind of story you were looking for.)


	5. The Howler

One of the Guys

Chapter Five: The Howler

I want my best friend.

I want to talk to Scorpius.

I don't waste anymore time. I politely excuse myself and thank Nicholas for hearing me out before I rush from his room to send an owl to Scorpius. I run to the Owlery. I have two owls to send right now. I draw an M with the line furthest to the right curving upward into an arrow at the top of one piece of parchment. I scribble:

_I need to talk to you. Meet me at the bridge at nine._

I draw a rose at the bottom. After attaching it to the owl's leg, I send the tiny bird away to deliver the message.

I write Connor's name at the top of the second piece of parchment. It says simply:

_Congratulations._

_-Rose_

I watch as the second bird flies toward the horizon, shrinking in size, until I can no longer see it. By this time, the first owl returns with a note attached.

_I'll be there._

I smile. Scorpius would never let me down. Slowly, I descend the stairs, contemplating what Connor could possibly have to say to me now. I'm so involved in my thoughts that I almost run into Victor, a Hufflepuff I know from our Care for Magical Creatures class.

"Oh. Hi, Rose," he blushes. Victor is about my height (when he's not hunching over) and has blond hair, brown eyes, and a very pale complexion. A pair of large glasses balances on his nose and ears (that stick out just a little too much). He has always been a friend of mine, ever since we first met in a detention that was unjustly issued to us in our second year. I tell you, some of the older professors here have no sense of humor about their wands being transfigured and used as Christmas decorations. Anyway, I think he might have developed a crush on me over the years. I'm very nice to him, and I'm willing to bet that I talk to him more than any other girl in our year does.

"Hi Victor," I smile at my friend. "How have you been? We haven't talked in ages."

"I'm okay," he has both his hands behind his back as if he's trying to conceal something. No matter. It's none of my business anyway. "I'm about to send an important letter, though. Can we get together and talk sometime?"

"Sure. When?"

"Er," he seems flustered. "I don't know right now. Let's talk about it in class, okay?"

"Okay. Take care," I wave and continue my descent on the old wooden stairs.

At ten minutes before nine, I'm pacing in a corridor on the fifth floor when an owl flies toward my head. "Watch it!" I curse at the bird then realize it's the same one I had sent to Connor earlier. After I grab the note from around its leg the damned thing flies away. I suppose I'll have to return to the Owlery if I need to send a reply. Knowing Connor, I'm more than likely going to have a lot to say to his response.

_Thanks. Sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want to hurt your feelings._

I was right. Oh boy, I do have a lot to say. At that moment, however, Scorpius wanders down the hall. He stops a few feet in front of me, puts his hands on his hips, and scowls. He reminds me of a young child who didn't get what he wanted for his birthday and is about to let his parents know about it.

I cock an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"That's not the bridge," he points to the painting I'm standing in front of.

"My pacing earlier must have left me in the wrong place," I say. I'll play his game. With exaggeratedly irritated steps, I position myself in front of him. "Happy?"

He looks from me to the painting of the bridge and then to me again. "I'm content. Sorry, dear Rose, but your instructions clearly stated that I was to meet you in front of the bridge."

So that's what this demonstration is about. "Scorpius, you know that that was a request, not a demand." I know he's merely teasing me but thinking back, that was a bit rude of me. I should have at least asked if he was busy or not. "You could have said no if you had plans. Did you have plans?"

"I was going to see Bell this afternoon, but she'll understand," Scorpius held up a hand before I could apologize. "Don't worry about it, Rosie Muriel Weasley. I could tell from your _handwriting_ that you're upset."

"What?"

Where did he come up with _that_ name?

"Yeah. You know, usually you write in straight line and your letters have that crazy loopy thing. This looked like a baby hippogriff danced across the page."

"Oh, never mind. Anyway, I have some fantastic news," my voice drips with sarcasm as I hold up Connor's note and pretend to read from it. "Allow me to announce the engagement of one Mister Connor Good-For-Nothing Brooks to one Miss Paris Low-Standards-For-a-Husband McDougal."

"No way," Scorpius looks on disbelievingly. "You two broke up less than two months ago!"

"I know!" I shout. "Oh, and do you know how I found out? I pulled some Nancy Drew moves and heard Paris' younger sister telling Professor Pallas about it. You'd think he would have told me, but no. That is how I have to find out," I'm shouting at this point. "So. Do you know what I did? What any courteous person would do. I sent him an owl to say congratulations and do you know what his reply is? Well, here, read this," I hand the parchment to Scorpius.

"Really?" He asks the parchment as if he expects it to explain itself more thoroughly. He looks annoyed and slightly angry.

"I know!" I grab the parchment and read it again. "He didn't want to hurt me. Well, me finding out from a complete stranger didn't hurt at all! Thanks a lot, you stupid git!" I crumple the paper in my hand. "He makes me so angry!"

Scorpius is watching me. He looks slightly confused.

"What's wrong?" I ask. My question startles him.

"Oh. Well, it's nothing. Just… It's just that you're handing this really well. I mean, besides all the shouting. I know you don't like crying in front of people, but I also know that sometimes you can't fight the tears when you're really angry."

"Oh, yeah," I blush slightly. "Well, Nicholas was around when I found out so I talked to him about it before I could get hold of you."

Something flashes in his eyes then quickly disappears. "I see. Well, I'm glad that someone could be there for you when I wasn't."

There's something more to his words, something that he's not saying. I can't comprehend the meaning and I don't inquire about it. Scorpius seems in a strange mood today. We sit down against the wall and he lets me vent for the better part of an hour. I spend that time ripping up Connor's note while I talk about everything from Austin and Nicholas to Connor. I didn't realize I had that much emotion suppressed.

Scorpius joins in the conversation, too. He tells me about Bell and how the two of them are doing. It hurts to hear, but I find myself becoming more and more numb toward that pain. There is very little that I wouldn't do to make Scorpius happy.

I'm fully exhausted by now. Scorpius offers me his hands and helps me to my feet. He doesn't let go even when I'm standing. Instead he pulls me toward him and then wraps his own arms around me.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through this, Rose. If I could make it stop hurting for you, I would. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. I love you," he whispers into my hair.

My entire body is tense. Those words should be comforting. They should make me feel better. They should make me so happy. But I know the truth about those words. And the truth does not make me happy. The truth is, he does love me, but not the way I want him to love me.

But I can live with that. For now, at least, I can accept that Scorpius Malfoy loves me as a friend. Because… Well… I love him too.

XXXX

I return to my room and one of my roommates, Lizzie, is sitting on her bed reading a book. "Something came for you," she smiles at me and points to my desk. "Seems you have a secret admirer."

I look. There's another rose. "Was there a note with it?"

"Not that I saw."

I pick up the flower, careful not to prick my fingers on the thorns. It's a pretty rose, but I'm not too concerned about finding out the identity of my admirer just yet.

I have more important things to do.

I sit down at my desk and pull out some stationary. I light the candles around me to give me better light and I sit back in my chair and wait for inspiration to come.

Ah. I've got it.

_You are stupid. Why don't you just admit that you didn't tell me because you got engaged because you're a pansy who can't face conflicts? You're stupid if you think that me finding out from a complete stranger was any less painful than if you'd have told me. I mean, don't get me wrong, I could care less, but I'm so pissed that you didn't tell me. You made me look like a damn fool._

_Oh, and, by the way. How the bloody hell is that supposed to work? How the hell do you go from telling one girl that you love her, break up with her, and, less than two months later, you're ready to get married again. How does that work?_

_And how dare you? Remember when we broke up? You made me feel like a heartless person. You made me feel so guilty. How are you going to make me feel like I'm a terrible girl, like I didn't love you, and then go and pull this?_

_I don't understand you at all, Connor Brooks. But do you know what? That's okay because I don't have to understand you. You are no longer a part of my life. I just thought I'd write to let you know it._

I put a few more choice words, phrases, and observations into the letter. It's one of my more passionate pieces, I do believe.

I put a spell on the paper before I send it out.

Maybe that was too harsh? Oh well. I'm beyond caring at this point.

XXXX

"I can't believe you sent him a howler!" Scorpius says to me in a loud whisper over his potions book. We're at the library, of course, meeting for our weekly study session.

"Oh, believe it. He had me in such a terrible mood. I feel a lot better now, though."

"I bet," Scorpius shakes his head. "Well, I guess he had it coming to him."

I shrug. "I probably could have done without sending it to him, but I feel as if I had a point to prove. That and I wasn't thinking clearly, I don't think."

"What makes you say that? That you could have done without, I mean."

I put my elbows on the table, lace my fingers together, and set my chin on top. "Well, I've been thinking. Maybe that was somewhat immature. Don't get me wrong. It was definitely a liberating experience, but it wasn't completely necessary," I laugh to myself. "I'm terrible about keeping in touch with people when I don't see them. I rarely keep in contact with people over the summers, and then there are my friends that have already left Hogwarts. I rarely talk to them anymore."

It's sad, but true.

"I probably could avoid him for the rest of my life if I try. I would never have to see him again, and none of this would ever matter."

"Good point." Scorpius laughs. "And I know what you mean. I'm like that, too when it comes to keeping in touch with others. I can't seem to do it." He looks down and scribbles something into the margin of his book. "So then, we'll probably never talk to each other again after we leave Hogwarts."

"I guess so," I try to say with a smile. That doesn't seem possible. Instead, I turn my head away so that he can't see my face. I'm really sad to even think about such a thing as not keeping in touch with Scorpius.

It's not like our families are friends, per say. It was pretty much a fluke that we even ended up on friendly terms in the first place. My dad couldn't believe it when I told him that Scorpius is one of my best friends. He figured there would always be bad blood between our families. Mom, on the other hand, was totally supportive. As for his parents… Well… We don't talk about his parents very much.

It's then that I realize something. We have no ties other than Hogwarts. When we leave, then what?

XXXX

I sit in the library for a while after Scorpius leaves. There's an advanced potion that I'm interested in looking up. Plus, I could use a distraction at this point. I'm searching for a specific book when Professor Longbottom walks up and greets me.

"Uncle Neville," I say with a smile. "What brings you here?"

He has a strange look on his face. He looks confused. "There's a visitor here to see you," he tells me. "Says it's very important that you talk right now. Come with me," he starts walking away and I have to run to catch up with him.

"Where are we going?"

"To the greenhouse," he says as if that should make complete sense to me. He opens the door for me and I look inside.

"No," is all I say.

"Rose," Connor begins walking toward me.

I turn to leave but Neville's blocking the exit. "I think you two need to talk for a bit, Rose. I think it might do you some good," he closes the door and leaves the two of us alone.

"I have nothing more to say to you," I firmly state as I cross my arms and refuse to look at him.

"But I have things to say to you. You haven't even heard my side of things yet. So, before you start making assumptions, maybe you ought to-"

"I'm not interested," I say angrily.

"That's really immature Rose," Connor remains calm.

"_That_ is immature?" I scoff.

"Listen. We need to talk. I don't want you to be angry with me. Just let me explain some things."

"We have nothing to talk about," I declare. I'm about to grab the door handle. I'm through with this. I don't want to even look at him.

Connor grabs my arms and pulls me so that I'm forced to look into his face. "Trust me. We have plenty to talk about. Starting with Scorpius Malfoy."

XXXX

That's the end of Chapter Five! Let me know what you think about it!

Yeah… I decided to focus this chapter on the relationship between Scorpius and Rose, so I left all other 'love interests' out for the time being. They'll be back again, trust me. Meanwhile…

Thanks for reviewing! Herszel, (I do feel special! Thank you so much for taking the time to review. I'm glad that you like the relationship between Rose and Scorpius.) JessFantasy16, (She is having a heck of a year. And I hope Lily's right, too, lol.) HermioneFan, (Thanks!) oreoxlove4ever, (Thanks for the reviews!) happilycharmed, (I must admit, I do really like Austin. He's a very fun character to write. Yeah, Scorpius better pull his head out of his butt soon or else Rose might end up losing interest. We'll see, I guess! P.S. Sorry, this chapter's a bit shorter than the others.) and PadfootPatronus, (It's okay! I took a while to update, so you're allowed to take a while to review. You're learning Latin, huh? That's pretty cool. I want to study Latin. And Spanish. And French. And a whole bunch of other languages, if only I had time. Anyway, yeah… I am making quite an interestingly tangled web of emotions. I'm going to try not to hurt anybody else in the process of finishing the story. I think I've already abused poor Rose enough. By the way, I did note how you were 'subtly' putting these ideas in my head, lol. Anyway. Conclusive cliffhangers, eh? Well, I find my readers get really angry when I leave them with really bad cliffs with no direction whatsoever. P.S. Was that enough Scorpius for you in this chapter?)


	6. Admirers Secret and Otherwise

Hey ya'll. (Um… I've been in Texas too long apparently.) Anyway, I guess I didn't realize how badly the fifth chapter left everybody hanging like that. I AM SO SORRY! I didn't mean for it to be that much of a cliffhanger. I guess it didn't seem as such to me because I knew what was going to happen, lol. Oops. I'm sorry! I'll try not to let it happen again, but no promises. Please forgive me!

On with the story!

Chapter Six: Admirers; Secret and Otherwise

"We have nothing to talk about," I declare. I'm about to grab the door handle. I'm through with this. I don't even want to look at him.

Connor grabs my arms and pulls me so that I'm forced to look into his face. "Trust me. We have plenty to talk about. Starting with Scorpius Malfoy."

Well, I can't wait to hear this.

"What about him?" I cross my arms and give him a hard glare. "Why are you always so jealous of him? Even now."

"I would think that part was obvious," Connor scoffs.

I'm losing any and all patience I ever had for this boy. "Spell it out for me."

"How are the two of you doing, by the way? Happy now that I'm out of the picture?" His voice is harsh.

"You being out of the picture hasn't changed a damn thing about my relationship with Scorpius," I proclaim matter-of-factly.

Connor looks as if I had just punched him in the gut. "So, what you're saying is," his words fade and he doesn't bother finishing his sentence.

I'm slightly confused. "What are _you_ saying, exactly? Did you come here to rub that in my face? I just don't get you."

"And I don't get you," he barks back. "How could you do that to me? And you were on about Paris and I as if we had done something wrong. That's a bit hypocritical don't you think? I always wondered if there was something going on between the two of you. Why didn't you just tell me? Were you two sneaking around behind my back the entire time? And you said _I_ made _you_ look like a fool."

"Whoa, what?" I exclaim, throwing my arms into the air. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You and Malfoy," he yells.

"We are just friends. Like we always have been," I insist.

Connor gives me a puzzled look. "Really? You two aren't dating?"

I take a deep breath to try and calm my nerves. So that's what this is about. He thought I dumped him for Scorpius. "No. We aren't dating. And we never did. Nothing ever went on behind your back."

"Is that the truth?" He inquires. His fists are clenched but he looks a lot more relaxed now, too.

I nod. "I promise. You know me better than that, Connor. I'm not a dishonest person. It really hurts that you said that."

"I'm sorry Rose," he sighs. "I should have known better, but I didn't. I mean… When you broke up with me, it just came out of nowhere, you know?"

Shaking my head I say, "Connor, no it didn't. It was a long time coming. It just took us that time apart in the summer for me to realize it," I sit down and lean my back against the door. "We just were never meant to be, no matter what we tried. Scorpius didn't have anything to do with it."

He leans against a table and examines his shoes. "I think I realized it then, too. Still, I just had myself convinced that Malfoy had gotten to you. I was sure that you were dumping me for him."

"No, Connor, for the hundredth time, Scorpius is my best friend," I'm tired of this fight. We've had it way too many times. I want this to be the last.

"And you say you aren't together now?"

"No. We aren't.

"Weird," he mutters to himself.

I don't want to start this again. I try to keep from yelling. "I can't understand why you were always so mistrusting. I know how you might have felt awkward because of how close we are, but I never gave you a reason to believe that for one minute I would even think about betraying you like that. Why the jealousy?"

"You really don't know, do you?" He almost chuckles.

This catches me off guard.

Connor sighs and stuffs his hands into his pockets. "Last September. I asked you out. Do you remember?"

I nod. "Of course."

"Well, as it turns out, Malfoy wanted to ask you out around that time, too," his eyes glaze over as if he's trying to remember something long gone. "I guess he'd planned on it, but didn't really know how to since you two were really good friends. I mean, how do you go about asking your best friend to be your girlfriend? On the other hand, I didn't have any such inhibitions, so I went ahead and got to you first."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. "Scorpius wanted to ask me out?"

"That's right."

I have the sudden urge to punch Connor in the face.

"Didn't it seem like he was paying extra attention to you? Didn't it seem like you were spending a lot more time together than usual?" He continues pointing out all the subtle hints.

I feel as if I've been run over by a train. It was all right there. It was all right in front of me. How could I have missed it?

Scorpius might have had a crush on me back then, just as I have a crush on him now. We're both just a couple of oblivious idiots.

I let this information sink in for a while before I speak again. "Scorpius liked me?"

"And he probably still does, if I were to place a bet."

"Then why wouldn't he have said anything? We're best friends. We can talk about anything," I realize the irony of my statement as I say it.

"I'm guessing that he saw you happy," Connor explains, and I curse the increase of said irony.

We sit in silence for a long while. I can't believe what I just heard.

"You okay?" Connor's voice makes me snap back from my brooding.

I make a noncommittal noise before standing up. "Sorry about sending that howler," I begin to smile. "That was pretty childish, huh? Thanks for doing the mature thing and coming to talk to me."

A small smile appears on his lips. "No. I think I might have deserved it. I should have let you know about the engagement. And I'm sorry about thinking all that about you and Malfoy," he makes a gesture with his hands that tells me he just wants to forget it. "I'm glad we talked, though. We never got the chance to after…" He shakes his head. "Anyway, I think this was good for us."

"Sure. I suppose we needed our closure," I open the door and let him walk out in front of me.

Connor stops halfway through. "I really do love Paris, by the way. We've been friends for a long time. I'm really happy right now."

Who am I to judge?

I pat him lightly on the shoulder. I wish him all the happiness he deserves.

XXXX

I can't sleep. I keep thinking about last year. What if I would have said no to Connor? What if Scorpius and I had gotten together? What if? What if?

I'm angry with Scorpius for not saying something then.

I'm angry with myself for not seeing it.

So do something about it now! What is there to lose by just talking to him about it?

That's it. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to go straight up to him and tell him my feelings for him. That's exactly what _he_ should have done one year ago.

Maybe.

I just don't know.

I fall into a fitful sleep.

XXXX

At breakfast, I sit down next to Lily.

"Rough night?" She asks. "You look like crap."

I love her brutal honesty. Really.

"I didn't sleep well. I had a lot to think about last night."

Lily looks sympathetically at me. "Right. I heard." She hands me a cup of tea.

"What?"

"About Connor," she says.

"Oh. Right," I'd forgotten about his engagement. I guess that means I'm over him. "Well actually," I lean toward her and lower my voice so that only she can hear. "That's not what I was thinking about. I need to talk to you later."

She has a knowing look, as if this is what she'd expected the entire time. "This is about Squid, right?" She whispers.

I nod and sip my tea. "Can we talk?"

"You bet. When?"

I can always count on Lily.

XXXX

"You mean you knew?" I ask disbelievingly.

Lily rolls her eyes and flops back on her bed. "Yeah. I knew. And, if I remember correctly, I talked to you about it then."

I take some time to think. "We did talk, didn't we?" It's starting to come back to me. "But I didn't know that he liked me like that," I say slowly. "I was under the impression that you and I were just talking about the possibility."

"And do you remember what you said about that possibility?"

"Yeah. I said that I was glad that he and I are just friends. I wouldn't trade our friendship for the world," that second part is still true.

"That's right. And you were really… Let's say you were smitten. You were really smitten with Connor. You just wanted to see what could happen. So you didn't even pay that kind of attention to Squid."

"Why didn't he just tell me? I mean, we're best friends. We talk about everything."

"And how would you have reacted?" Lily gives me a hard look. "Like I said, you really liked Connor. Wouldn't you have been pissed if he had said anything? Wouldn't you have felt like Squid was trying to mess things up for you?"

Her words sting, but that doesn't change the fact that they are true.

I was happy with Connor, at least for a little while. I even think that at the time I might have gotten upset with Scorpius if he would have tried to break us up.

I think back to last September. All the signs were there, I could have easily seen what Scorpius was up to. Then I recall something else.

Doubt.

I remember now. I had thought about the possibility of the two of us together, and I remember worrying about our friendship. Would it survive if things between us didn't work out? Would this relationship be worth it?

I was afraid. I didn't want to risk it. He meant so much to me. He still does. He always will.

I don't know what to do. I don't know how to act. I don't know what to say. I don't even know how I should feel at this point.

Maybe this is how Scorpius felt.

"You love him," it's not a question. "You're finally admitting it, aren't you? I knew it was only a matter of time."

"It's the timing that we could never get right," I say. How frustrating. "So what should I do?"

Lily sits up and grabs my hand. "I can't tell you that, Rose. It's up to you to do whatever you think is right. I will say this, though. Don't forget that you've always said that you want to be his friend, regardless of what happens."

XXXX

What I think is right. What do I think is right?

I think that Scorpius should just dump his stinky girlfriend and run away with me to some far off land and we'll change our names and get married and live happily ever after with our babies and dogs and cats. The end.

And now for something a little more practical…

I don't know what's the right thing to do. This is what I do know: I want to be happy. I want Scorpius to be happy. I want to be with Scorpius. I want him to be with someone who makes him happy.

Not too much to ask for, right?

In all fairness, he really seems to like being with Bell right now. I don't recall him smiling this much when he was with Rachel.

How could I possibly want to ruin that for him?

I've decided. I can't try to affect what Scorpius does. He has to make his own decisions and, as his friend, I will support every choice that he makes. I'd feel terrible if I ever did anything to hurt him.

I can only control my own actions at this point. I'd say it's about time I grow up. It's going to be tough, but I know what I have to do.

I didn't know that Scorpius liked me back then. How could I have known? Not even a month after I started dating Connor, Scorpius and Rachel became an item.

I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to date anyone else. Er… That only _sounds_ desperate. I think of it more as staying available so that things are less complicated when he and Rachel do finally break up. Whenever that may be. Scorpius is worth the wait. And, if it doesn't happen this year, that's fine. I'm going to be studying like crazy in order to score perfectly when I take my N.E.W.T.s.

And if he doesn't feel the same way about me when that time finally comes? Well, I'll deal with that mess when it's necessary.

XXXX

I want to spend the rest of my week buried in my books. Nicholas, however, has a different idea of how I should spend my time. He accosts me on Tuesday night at dinner. Okay, maybe 'accost' is too strong of a word, but I'm trying to stay low-key!

"You seem busy," he observes. I have my Potions book in my left hand as I feed myself with the other.

"Just trying to get ahead," I explain.

He scratches his head. "Aren't you already about five chapters ahead?"

"Six."

He blinks. "You're a strange one. Anyway, since you're so far ahead, I thought that I would ask you one more time. Hell, I'll even beg if I have to."

I set my book down.

"Please, Rose, please try out for Quiddich this year. We could have such an amazing team if you played with us. Tryouts are on Saturday at nine. You should show up," he keeps talking but I've already picked my book up and started reading again. That should be answer enough, right?

Then a thought strikes me. "Nicholas," I say as sweetly as possible. "You know how we've been hanging out a lot lately? That wouldn't have anything to do with you trying to convince me to join the team, would it?"

The look he gives is priceless, almost like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Well, no. Not completely," he says carefully. "Okay. That was part of the reason, but I honestly do like spending time with you, Rose. Believe me. Even if you don't come out for the team, which I think you should," he adds as a side note, "I'd still like to keep hanging out with you."

Yeah. That's not what I wanted to hear. I was actually hoping that that was the only reason he was interested in me. That would have made things so much easier. "You know what," I close my book and look him squarely in the eyes. "I appreciate that, Nicholas, I really do. I'm honored that you want me on the team that badly, and I'm flattered that you like spending time with me, but I'm actually going to have to say no and put my foot down on both accounts. I've realized that I need to stay focused right now."

He looks shocked. Er, that probably wasn't the most tactful thing to say. Let me try again. "What I mean is, you know how important this Quiddich championship is to you? Well, that's exactly how I feel about the N.E.W.T.s. I wish I could help you, but I just think that Quiddich, among other things, would be a distraction at this point."

Nicholas furrows his brow in thought. "Sometimes distractions can be good for you," he offers. He's not pushing the matter, and I'm happy for that. "Don't study too hard. You don' want to burn out. Anyway, tryouts are on Saturday. If you decide to come then that's great and I'll be absolutely thrilled. If not, well, I'll understand. And that won't change the way that I think about you in the slightest. And if you ever want to hang out, I'm up for that too."

"Thank you," I say and it's as if a huge weight has been lifted off my chest. Well. That takes care of one boy.

On Wednesday night I have plans to study with Austin. This time we are legitimately going to study. I get to the library before he does and I start working on my charms essay.

I look up just as he enters the library. I take a deep breath. Here it comes. I'm going to tell him that I'm no longer attracted to him, and I don't want to be anything more than friends. He's such a nice boy. I don't want to hurt him. I exhale slowly.

Austin sits down across from me but before I can even say anything, he holds up his hand. "Something's wrong," he says.

My eyes widen. How? How did he? How could he know? I've not even said anything yet. This kid is really perceptive.

"No," I say. "I mean, yes. Well, no," now I'm confused. "I wouldn't say anything's wrong. It's just that," I blabber on for a while more before Austin interrupts me.

"What do you want, Rose?"

"I want to be friends," I finally say. "I don't want to keep flirting, and," I lower my voice, "kissing. Not that there was anything wrong with that," I say quickly. "But I just don't want that kind of relationship right now. I just want to do things for me right now."

Austin smiles. "I understand completely," he assures me.

He is so wonderful. I can see that, plain as day. I can't, however, give up on Scorpius. I'm never going to be happy with Austin if I can't get over Scorpius.

Our study session is a very productive one. When I return to my room, I decide to take a break and read a book. I throw my pillows onto my windowsill (my favorite place to read) and I curl up there. I notice a rose outside of my window.

Another one? I open the window and retrieve it. It's just as beautiful as the others. Again, there is no note.

Okay. Apparently there's one more boy to take care of. I think I might know who sent it.

XXXX

Albus and I walk together to Care of Magical Creatures. He asks me if I'm going to go for Quiddich tryouts. I ask him if there's a Quiddich section on the N.E.W.T.s. He comes back with a "Touché." When we arrive, the professor wants us to team up with a group and search for traces of unicorns in the woods. In other words, the old man is feeling miserable today and doesn't want to teach. Albus and I go with Victor and another Hufflepuff girl.

I send Albus and the girl in one direction and I stay with Victor. He seems very uncomfortable, so I talk and tell jokes to make him feel better. He's more relaxed now.

Okay. Now, how do I do this? I don't want to embarrass him. He's very sensitive.

"I sent you those roses," he blurts.

Oh, stupid boy! Here I am trying to make him feel less stressed and he just throws that out there. It's okay. We'll get through this.

"Oh, really?" I act surprised. "They're beautiful," I choose my words carefully. "And they really made me feel better. I've been having a really tough time lately but they made me smile."

"I know," he says, examining a tree trunk. "I noticed that you seemed really down lately, and I wanted to do something for you."

"That was really sweet," I say sincerely.

"Yeah," his face turns red. "I only just realized that I didn't sign my name on the note, so I wanted to let you know that it was me. I swear I wasn't trying to be creepy. I just wanted to do something nice for you since you've always been a sweetheart to me. I'm not trying to come on to you or ask you out or anything."

Wow. These boys have made it very easy for me. Maybe the powers that be have decided that I've gone through enough drama.

I'm not sure why, but a tear forms in my eye as I smile.

"So, how are you doing?" Victor asks.

"I'm doing well now," I answer truthfully. I blink back the tear.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'd like to offer you some advice. I'm not familiar with what was troubling you, but I'll tell you what I do know," he looks me straight in the eyes as he says this. "I believe things happen for a reason. Sometimes it may take a while to see, but things turn out how they are supposed to."

Yeah. Maybe he's right.

XXXX

"You broke his heart!" Scorpius can't contain his laughter. "The poor boy. You just crushed his hopes and dreams," he can barely keep his hands steady as he tries to scrape ingredients off his cutting board and slowly into our potion. I made the mistake of telling him about the roses and my talk with Victor. As far as my conversation with Connor, though, I've decided to keep that to myself.

I put my finger to my lips to tell him that he's being too loud. "Shut up, you. Weren't you listening? He wasn't interested in me. I only thought he was."

"Sure, sure. He was interested in you, I bet. Only he didn't want to admit it. He was waiting for you to say something like," he makes his voice high and screechy. "Oh, Victor, I was hoping that it was you who sent me the roses. I love you, even though my favorite flowers are daisies. I can see that you meant well," he looks rather pleased with himself.

"I do not sound like that," I say half stern and half amused, looking around to see if anyone else was paying attention. Nobody looks up.

"That's what you think," I hit him in the arm and he accidentally drops his cutting board into the cauldron. We give each other horrified looks. "You get it," we both say at the same time.

"You dropped it, you useless oaf," I argue.

"You're the one who hit me, genius."

"It's a swelling solution, you dolt. If I touch it my hand will get huge."

"Oh, so it's better if mine do?"

"Naturally."

"You're such a princess. Besides, it's not a swelling solution yet. It's," we look at the blob of a potion. "Well, I'm not sure what it is."

"Well, in that case, sure. I'll stick my hand in there."

"Really?"

"No!" I snap my fingers. "You know what? We're probably the top students of our class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"So? This is a pretty weird time to get an ego, isn't it?"

"Well, are you a wizard, or not?"

I can almost see the light bulb turn on above his head. _"Accio board_," he says and the board lifts out of the cauldron and sets itself down on the table. He looks so proud.

"_Scourgify_," I clean the solution off the board.

Scorpius chuckles. "We're quite the team."

I give him an 'are you kidding?' look. "We're a bit dysfunctional, wouldn't you say?"

He shrugs. "Keeps things interesting."

XXXX

I hope you enjoyed the sixth installment! I'm not going to lie, that was a tough one to write. It took me a while to get everything I wanted to say, and I kept changing my ideas around like crazy.

Thanks for reviewing! jesusfreak917, (I'm flattered that this is one of your favorites!) brokenstitches, (Aw, you should have made some guesses! I would have been interested in seeing what you thought. Liking that you're liking the story, though. Thanks!) HarmonieFan, happilycharmed, (Sorry about the cliffie! That was mean, wasn't it? Anyway, you were right! Connor was pretty perceptive, but he did jump to the wrong conclusion.) PadfootPatronus, (I already messaged you to let you know about my boo boo, lol. Thank you so much for pointing that out to me. Um, I was sick when I posted it, and didn't proofread very carefully. Oops. Anyway, thanks so much for the review!) Ninelli, I-Heart-Werewolves, trobairiz, Missdagane, (Aw, I'm sorry for being so evil! Sort of… I'm glad my story is one of your favorites, though, that makes me feel awesome!) princecharmprincesswit, (I'm honored that my fic is the first Scorpius/Rose fic that you've read. Amazing! Teehee, sorry that it left you hanging like that. I hope you keep enjoying the bittersweet aspects of this story.) and Intricacy, (Snape with clean hair? That would be something. Thanks for the review!)

By the by… Have any of you ever received a review from Flame Rising? Well, he left me a pretty shocking review, and I was really offended at first. Then I checked out his C2 thing that he has, and I'm not offended anymore, and you shouldn't be either if you do get something from him. He sends the same exact review to a lot of stories and offers no help. It's just a few insults that aren't at all clever, and are actually somewhat vulgar. Anyway… I'm over it. I just want ya'll to know that you shouldn't take anything he says to heart if he does send you something. Apparently, he doesn't even do constructive criticism. He must be way above that at this point. Too busy copying and pasting the same flame over and over again… I have no respect for someone like that.


	7. Promise Me

One of the Guys

Chapter Seven: Promise Me

Finally. It's the weekend. I'm so ready to put my books aside and just chill out for a couple days. Don't get me wrong. I love schoolwork as much as the next nerdy student, but my brain is crying for a break.

I wander down to the Great Hall for some breakfast. I see Nicholas and the rest of the Gryffindor Quiddich team at one end of the table. Wanting to avoid more buggering from the aforementioned boy, I try to remain unnoticed. That, however, is around the time that Albus, my most favorite-est cousin ever, decides it would be a great idea to wave and yell my name for all to hear. It's a matter of seconds before Nicholas zeroes in on me. "Come sit with us!"

Under the pressure, I fold. I can't come up with an excuse not to sit with them. I should have known that they'd all be down here, setting this trap for me. Or, I suppose, just eating breakfast.

I sit with Lily on my one side. Chas, who looks extremely nervous, sits on the other. "You'll be fine," I whisper into his ear.

"You'll be there today, right? We start tryouts at nine," Nicholas begins pestering me already.

"If I do go, it'll be for moral support and nothing more, but don't count on me being there. I have a lot of work to do today" I declare, taking a bite out of an apple. It's a lie, but whatever.

Fifteen minutes later, however…

Against my better judgment, I head down to the Quiddich pitch.

You know what? Let me rephrase that. Against my will, I'm dragged down to the Quiddich pitch, all the while insisting that I am merely going to watch.

We arrive just as the Slytherins are finishing their tryouts. I watch Scorpius make an amazing save and I hear cheering come from the stands. I look up to see Bell standing on her seat waving her arms in the air. Scorpius laughs and waves at her.

How cute.

I walk up to Nicholas. "So what are we looking at?" I point toward the cluster of hopeful Gryffindors.

"A bunch of sorry excuses for human be- Oh. Oops. I mean…" he fakes a nervous laugh and I can't help but giggle. "Well, according to the rules, I have to make everybody try out, including everyone who played last year, but obviously I'm going to keep my old team, other than that we'll probably end up picking up Chas."

"Wait a minute. Don't you have two open spots?" My eyes narrow suspiciously.

"Not that I'm aware of," he does his best to avoid eye contact with me.

"You need another Chaser, Nicholas."

"We'll see."

"I already told you, I'm not going to try out."

"We'll see."

"You're such a stubborn ass," I begin walking away.

"You're probably right," he concedes.

I make my way over to the stands and sit next to Bell. She starts telling me about what she's seen the Slytherins do so far and makes her guesses as to who will actually be chosen.

I let her finish, and find that I can't help myself. "So, how are things with you and Scorpius?"

"Great," she beams. "He's wonderful. Who knew? I always assumed he would be a jerk because he's in Slytherin, but he's one of the sweetest guys I've met."

"Yeah, he's alright, I guess," shrug, a hint of sarcasm in my voice. Bell smiles.

"Right. Of course you know how great he is. I can't believe you never snatched him up," she laughs, trying to cover up her uneasiness.

I can't believe it either, nor can I come up with anything to say to convince her that I don't intend to try and 'snatch him up.' Or maybe I just don't want to convince her…

The Slytherins finish and the Gryffindors get ready to take to the air. I watch Scorpius fly around the pitch. He's just showing off now, but I can't help admiring how skillfully he flies.

"…And we were talking about going to visit my family in Scotland during the winter holiday," I'm vaguely aware that Bell had been talking, but that sentence makes me snap to attention.

"You're going to Scotland?"

"Well, we haven't made any definite plans yet, but Scorpius seems interested in going with me. I think that would be fun for the two of us. And then he could meet my family. Not that we're very serious yet, but it would still be nice for my parents to meet my boyfriend," she continues but I stop listening.

They're talking about going to Scotland this winter holiday? I can't believe it.

For the past four years, Scorpius and I have been talking about our plans for our seventh year. Like I've said before, our families are not exactly friends. My mother seems as if she's cool about the situation but my father is very wary of our friendship. According to Scorpius, his parents feel the same as my father.

With all of that being said, Scorpius and I have been talking for years about taking our very last winter holiday to visit each other's families. I wonder if maybe he's forgotten.

I take a deep breath and remind myself, whatever makes him happy. I will support anything Scorpius does so long as it makes him happy.

"Are you staying to watch?" I need a change of subject.

"We might stay and watch for a while."

Sure enough, Bell sits with me for a few more minutes and then Scorpius joins us.

"Hey ladies," he says to the both of us. Bell hops up, wraps her arms around him, and plants a kiss on his cheek. I turn my head, suddenly overcome by a small coughing fit. Scorpius proceeds to tell us who all was chosen for which position. Meanwhile, I'm watching the Gryffindor players fly around the field.

Everyone who was on the team last year flies beautifully. Chas looks a little awkward, but he is doing a lot better than the others trying out as Beater. I don't even want to talk about the students that are looking to become a Chaser.

Oddly enough, I find myself missing the feeling of the wind whipping my hair against my face as I dive after the quaffle. I used to hate that. My face would always be wind-burnt and I would complain about my hair stinging my eyes. The boys just didn't understand.

"Why don't you get out there and show them how it's done?" Scorpius suggests.

"What? No. I really don't feel like playing this year. Besides, they aren't doing too horribly," I lie.

"You don't feel like it, eh? My mistake. I thought maybe that's why you're fidgeting in your seat so badly."

I sit on my hands. He can see right through me.

"Come on, Rose. You know that you want to," his grey eyes bore into mine. "It's our last year for this. You'll regret it if you don't."

"I don't know," I begin.

"Rose, you'll have plenty of time to keep up with schoolwork. Don't worry about that. And you need something other than studying or else you'll go mad," he echoes what Nicholas had already told me.

Bell sits back silently and watches the exchange between the two of us. I wonder if she feels out of place. Scorpius and I haven't ever really needed very many words to express things to each other. We just… know. Like he knows exactly why I'm worried about playing Quiddich. (Granted, most people already knew that, but that's just one example.) Not only that, but he also knows the things that could make me want to play.

After a minute of silence, he holds his broomstick out to me. I grab the wooden handle and I can remember the first time I flew. I was about eight years old when my Aunt Ginny started teaching me to play Quiddich telling me that I needed to practice secretly so that I could surprise all the boys later. And, let me tell you, I sure did surprise them. I do believe that that was the first time I ever heard my Uncle Percy curse.

"You love flying," Scorpius says. A smirk tugs at his lips. "You didn't forget how to fly, did you? I swear, Rose, you're such an airhead sometimes," he teases.

I stand up and put my hand on my hip, acting as if I were insulted by his jest. I cannot, however, keep myself from smiling. In a few seconds, I'm in the air sailing toward Nicholas. He looks as if he expected me to do this the entire time. Well, he could at least have the decency to _act_ shocked, surprised, relieved, or something of that nature.

"Hi," I say, flying up to him. "My name is Rose Weasley, I'm in my seventh year, and I'm here to try out for the Gryffindor Quiddich team."

Nicholas plays along. "Tryouts started at nine. It is now," he looks at his bare wrist, "well, it's after nine. I'll tell you what, though. I think you're kind of cute. I guess I can make an exception for you."

I bat my eyelashes and blow him a kiss as I fly away to join the rest of the students. I haven't played Quiddich in a while, but everything still comes naturally.

When we finally finish and land, Nicholas runs over to me and pulls me into a hug. He swings me around a couple times. "I knew you wouldn't let us down," he says.

"Does this mean I made the team?" I say in a voice that sounds just a little too excited.

Then he turns to the rest of the students. "Oh yeah," he says and starts naming off player and positions. "And, finally, Hugo and Chas are Beaters. As for the rest of you, I'm sorry. Better luck next year."

Looking toward the stands, I see that Scorpius has a smug look on his face that says 'I told you so.' It's then that I hear someone call my name from the opposite direction. I see Austin, running toward us.

"I didn't think you were going to try out this year," he says when he finally reaches me.

"I didn't think I was going to, either," I admit.

"Well, whatever made you change your mind, I'm glad," he extends his hand and I grasp it in a handshake. "I'm looking forward to playing against you this year."

"Ditto," I offer a smile. He holds my hand and my gaze a little too long. Or maybe it's me.

"Austin," Nicholas comes over.

"Nicholas. Looks like you might actually have a decent team this year."

And so the friendly rivalry commences.

I take the opportunity to head toward Scorpius. "Thank you," I hand his broom back to him.

"Any time, kid. You looked great out there."

"You sure did, much better than the rest of those-" Bell continues to talk. And talk. And gesticulate, and talk. It occurs to me that I've never heard her say this much before. Nor have I seen her this happy in a long while.

I'm sure Scorpius is the reason, and I feel a pang of guilt. Why guilt? Because I would like nothing more than to see the two of them split up.

She keeps talking but I pay her no mind. I can't stop staring at Scorpius, who can't stop staring at her.

I want him to look at me that way.

"I think she gets it," Scorpius says when Bell stops to take a breath.

"Right. Anyway, we'll see you later, okay?" She pulls his hand and starts leading him away.

"Hey," Scorpius says over his shoulder. "I won't be able to study with you this weekend. I'm going to be busy."

I don't know how, but I manage a smile. I'd been wondering how long it was going to take before he started blowing me off to hang out with her. Inevitably, it always happens when one of us starts dating someone new. Nothing changes for the first month or so, and then, suddenly, it's like we aren't even attending the same school anymore, we rarely see each other. Then, fortunately, things level out again after a while. I just don't want to think about how long this while is going to last.

I end up walking back to the castle with Nicholas. He won't shut up about how we're going to 'dominate' this year, and 'crush all the competition' because they don't have a 'monkey's chance in the Sahara' of beating us. Hey, don't ask me. His words, not mine.

"And you say I'm a strange one," I mutter under my breath.

Nicholas laughs and puts his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him. "I'm so glad you changed your mind."

"Yeah, yeah. I know, because we're going to 'make them wish they were muggles' when we're through with them," again, that was all his doing.

"Oh. Well, there's that, but I actually meant that I'm glad that we're going to get to spend more time together," he stops to look at me before opening the door. "I told you, I really like spending time with you. And, if I can only spend time with you at Quiddich practice, seeing as you're addicted to studying and I'm allergic to it, I'll take what I can get."

Oh no, I think to myself, I thought we'd settled this. Oh well. It's only Quiddich practice. He can't possibly expect that to count as a date.

XXXX

The weeks go by, and I can barely tell one day from the next. In Austin, I've found a very motivated study buddy. We get together a few times a week to do our schoolwork, and nothing else. It's relaxing not to feel the sexual tension that I can't deny existed previously between the two of us. Right now, it's all business. And we're both okay with that.

Nicholas, on the other hand, seems to think that I'm playing hard to get. I see him when we play Quiddich, of course. (By the by, we won our first match against Hufflepuff!) I'm trying my best to act casual as possible about the whole thing. I did finally cave a little last weekend, and I went with him to the bookstore again. We had lunch afterward. It wasn't a big deal, to me, anyway. I do not know what is in that boy's head.

It's getting closer to the winter holiday and I haven't talked to Scorpius outside of class. Even in class, we don't discuss much other than the material. He did tell me about Bell's invitation to Scotland. I had expressed to him that it sounded like a great idea, it would be so much fun to travel. Now he's decided that he will go. I try not to let it hurt me that he's forgotten our plans to meet each other's families.

Austin and I are in the library (surprise!) one night, studying (even bigger surprise!) when I happen to look around the room and spot Scorpius and Bell bent over their textbooks.

This not talking, not spending time together thing is really getting to me. I miss him. Whether or not I have a crush on him would not change that fact. We've been friends for so long. Our friendship has survived through a lot of things (family differences, boyfriends, girlfriends, embarrassing moments, attacking squids, strange phobias, inability to whistle, inability to teach someone how to whistle, good times, bad times, you name it, and it's probably happened to us) that not many others can boast. That has to count for something.

I think back to a conversation we had not too long ago.

_I'm terrible about keeping in touch with people when I don't see them. I rarely keep in contact with people over the summers, and then there are my friends that have already left Hogwarts. I rarely talk to them anymore._

_I know what you mean. I'm like that too when it comes to keeping in touch with others. I can't seem to do it. So then, we'll probably never talk to each other again after we leave Hogwarts._

_I guess so._

I had said that, but it hurt so badly even to imagine when that time would come.

That's when I realize something. I could just sit back and watch as months go by before I get to spend time with Scorpius. I could just sit back, pouting, until he realizes 'Oh, shoot, I've been taking my best friend for granted.' I could wait.

Or I could do something about it right now.

Not sure of how to go about this, I excuse myself and make my way toward their table. "Hi," I greet them both then turn to Scorpius. "Austin and I have a question about Transfiguration. Could you help?" Transfiguration is a sort of code word used between Scorpius and I. Anytime that I ask for help in that subject it means that I actually have something I need to talk about.

"Sure, what about?"

I make up something that does not exist, and yet is mundane enough that Bell won't get curious about it.

Scorpius thinks for a moment. "You know, I really have no clue about that."

Are you kidding me? Don't tell me he's forgotten. Granted, we haven't used these tactics in a long while, but I still expected him to remember.

"But I was also wondering about that recently, too. The professor mentioned it a couple days ago, right?" Scorpius gives me a discreet wink.

Oh. I should learn not to jump to conclusions.

"That's right," I play along.

"There's probably a book about it around here. Let's go check it out," he stands up. "I'll be right back, okay?" He tells Bell as he touches her shoulder.

I follow him to the back of the library. "Alright. What's up?" He whispers when he's sure nobody's around.

"This is going to sound really stupid," I begin.

I see the smirk form on his face and wait for the jibe. "Yeah, well I already figured that. You're in the habit of saying some pretty stupid things."

That earns him a light punch on the arm. "You're so mean to me and I don't ever do anything to you. Why I even bother talking to you, I'll never know."

"Rose, I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I haven't seen you around lately."

"And so you need to make up for that by being extra snarky?" I jokingly accuse.

"Snarky?"

"It's a word," I argue defensively. "Anyway, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"About my snarky-ness?"

"No, about not seeing you lately," I start slowly. "It's kind of bumming me out lately. I respect that you have a girlfriend and that you spend time with her. That does not bother me at all, but I was just thinking. This is our last year at Hogwarts, and I remembered something we'd talked about a few weeks ago. It went something like we'll never talk to each other again when we leave here. Well, frankly speaking, I don't want that to happen. I'm totally cool with you hanging out with Bell while we're here, I actually expect that, but," I reach out and place my hand on his forearm. "Please don't forget about me. I don't want to stop talking to you after we finish school here-"

Scorpius doesn't let me finish. "Good," he nods vehemently. "Good. I agree. And I know that I've been with Bell a lot lately, but-"

"You don't have to justify anything. I'm not going to tell you not to hang out with your girlfriend. If I didn't do that when you were dating Rachel, I'm definitely not going to do it when you're dating a sweetheart like Bell," I assure him. It's the truth. Damn that girl! Why does she have to be so sweet?

This makes him laugh. "That's true. Anyway, I don't want to stop talking to you either, Rose," he looks away for a moment. "Honestly, I was really upset the other day when you said that about probably not talking to me again. I was thinking 'Wow, that's messed up,'" his eyes find mine again. He speaks slowly, as if he's choosing his words carefully. "You're my best friend, Rose. I'd be really sad if we didn't keep in touch. Promise me that that won't happen."

He has no idea how happy his words just made me.

I give him a hug and sigh. "I promise."

"Good. And I promise that I won't forget you. Realistically, though," I feel his body move with a chuckle and I can't wait to hear what he has to say. "Who could possibly forget you? You're pretty much one of kind, what with your random oddities, general loudness, and not to mention how _snarky_ you are."

I pull away from him and put my hands on my hips. "You're really not very good at context clues, are you? Go and misuse a word that I only just taught you," I cluck my tongue disapprovingly.

"Wait a minute," he begins.

"I'm not snarky at all. I'm the most pleasant girl you'll ever meet. I'm not critical or snide or anything."

"That's absolutely right, Rose," he pats my head in a placating manner. "You just go ahead and keep thinking that. Live in your fantasy world, I won't judge you."

Satisfied with our conversation, Scorpius and I go our separate ways. Even as I sit down next to Austin, I can still hear Bell.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Nope. I don't even think it exists. I bet our professor was just talking out of his arse again," Scorpius answers. I smile to myself. I love that boy.

XXXX

Thanks for reviewing! Lupin4Tonks, (I'm glad you're a fan of my writing style. It was something new I wanted to try, and I wasn't too sure about it at first, but now I think it's great. As for Rose's confession… we'll see, lol.) PadfootPatronus, (Dude, I know that you want Scorpius to be more prominent, and I'm doing what I can for that. I hope you liked what I did in this chapter. As for the love square, oh, there's still that possibility. Silly Nicholas. By the by, I don't consider anything in your review 'mindless waffle' I really enjoy long reviews. Makes me feel like you're really enthusiastic, and I get to know a bit more about how you're feeling about the fic. I love long reviews, mindless waffle or no.) princecharmprincesswit, (It's you again! Thanks for sticking with my story. I'm glad that my fic has inspired you to search for more Rose/Scorpius. I put in a bit more humor where I could manage, by the way. I hope that you approve!) trobairiz, (As always, thanks for the review. P.S. I can't wait to see what happens either, lol. These characters are starting to get minds of their own.) HarmonieFan, (Patience, grasshopper.) iluvtheoc3000, (Your reviews all made me smile. I'm glad that you liked how I described their relationship. It was pretty easy to do, if you want to know, on account of I have a friendship like that. He's pretty much the inspiration for this story, lol.) Missdagane, (Oh yes, things are going to be very interesting. Hold on tight!) Kelsey, (Yeah. I totally agree about the freedom of having new characters. They are who I want them to be. I'm really glad that you like my story.) and Michelle Felton, (Thank you so very much!)


	8. Things I Least Expected To Happen

One of the Guys

Chapter Eight: Things I Least Expected to Happen

It's time to go home for the winter holiday, and I couldn't be happier. I want to get away from this place for a while, I need to clear my head and just relax.

On my way to the library (Austin and I want to squeeze in one more study session before we leave) I do my best to dodge any mistletoe that I see. My younger cousins thought that it would be a fantastic idea to ask our Uncle George to send some of the enchanted mistletoe from his joke shop, and then they proceeded to booby-trapped the entire castle with it. It's enchanted because anyone that stands under it, even if you're trying to walk below it, gets stuck. How do they get unstuck? You guessed it. They have to be kissed, not on the cheek or the forehead or any of that nonsense. They have to be kissed on the lips.

I've managed to dodge them so far, but they're getting craftier. You can imagine how silly the students must all look, snaking our ways through the corridors.

I get to the library and there is no sign of Austin yet. Choosing a table near the window, I set my bag down and pull out a box that's wrapped in red paper and tied with a gold-colored bow. It's snowing outside. I can't wait to get home and play in the snow. My family has a tradition: the Weasley Christmas Snowball War. Of course, we invite Teddy Lupin to join as well. We all get together and play outside of my grandparents' house, adults versus the children. It's magical, and it's going to be so much better this year. Albus and I are finally allowed to apparate, so that will make things more interesting.

It's a full ten minutes before Austin finally shows up.

"Sorry," he sits down, looking slightly flustered. "I got stuck under some of that mistletoe."

My jaw drops. "You didn't! How did you not see it?"

"Well, those little bastards are getting trickier. They hid some in a chandelier, completely out of sight."

"Oh no," I sympathize completely, I truly do. But it's funny! I can't keep the smile off my face or the giggle out of my voice. "Who ended up, um, saving you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he frowns.

"Well, that's one way to get my interest. Austin. Tell me," it's not a request. If he knows what's good for him, he'll tell me. Otherwise, there's a nasty tickle jinx heading his way.

I can almost see the internal struggle. I think that he is fully aware of how much I want to know who it was and, although he may not have guessed my method of choice, I do think that he knows that I'm totally prepared to do whatever it takes to get my way.

We are about to find out how much this information is worth to him.

He looks absolutely miserable when he speaks again. "Fine. I'll tell you. You have to promise, though," he looks around to make sure we're alone, "that you won't tell anybody."

I sit back in my chair and stroke my chin as if I'm thinking very deeply about it. "I suppose I could do that," I finally say.

Austin sighs, as if he were hoping that I wouldn't promise, thus giving him a reason not to tell me. "Okay. Well, here's the thing. You know how the halls have been rather sparsely populated as of late, what with the holidays coming up so soon, especially the one that I decided to walk down, apparently. I walked under the chandelier, and guess what. I get stuck. I was standing there a good three minutes before anyone came by. Three minutes may not sound like a long time, but when you're stuck and have no way of freeing yourself, you start thinking crazy things and those three minutes pass by so slowly."

"Who came by?" I ask excitedly, my eyes wide. He has me on the edge of my seat.

"I'm getting there. Well, someone comes by, alone of course, and sees me there. I explained my situation, and, not surprisingly, the person refused to kiss me. I said, 'Then go find someone else to do it. Don't just leave me here.' They run down one hallway, then another. Not a soul. You can imagine my frustration. We argued a bit, and then they finally, um, saved me."

"Well, don't stop there. Tell me who she was."

His eyes narrow and I can tell that he is quite vexed by this point.

Maybe I'm enjoying this story a little too much?

Nah.

"I would love to tell you, if it were a _she_."

The meaning of his words takes a few seconds to sink in completely. Then I lose it completely. "You kissed a dude?"

"Shut up," he looks around the deserted library.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Now, however, there is no getting out of it. Tell me who you snogged. Come on."

"I think you're getting too much pleasure out of this."

"Me? Never. Who was it?"

He sighs again. I hold my breath.

He mumbles something.

"What's that?"

He glares at me. "I said Nicholas, okay? Nicholas was apparently the only person in the entire bloody castle at that moment, and there was no other way around it."

I'm dying. Laughing, I fall out of my chair and go into hysterical fits on the floor. I'm wheezing from not being able to breathe and I imagine that I sound like an out of breath hippopotamus.

"I'm glad that you're so sympathetic to my plight, Rose. I feel as if I can tell you anything and you wouldn't judge me one bit," he says dryly.

"I'm… sorry," I manage to speak between laughs. Wiping at the tears in my eyes, I pull myself back up onto the chair. "That was possibly the best story I've heard in my life. You've just made my entire week."

He just shakes his head, but I can see a small smile tugging at his lips.

"What's that?" He points to the box on the table.

"Oh, that's your gift," I slide it to him. "Happy Christmas."

"Really, Rose? Red and gold?"

"You don't like it? Here, look," I point to the top.

"What is that?"

"It's a lion, of course."

"No, Rose. I know what a lion's supposed to look like. That looks like," he squints and tilts his head. "That looks like a House Elf jumping rope on top of a tea pot."

"What? No it doesn't," I yank it out of his hands and examine my drawing. "Let me see. Oh," I frown. "It does. How the hell did I manage that?"

"Talent. Meanwhile," he reaches into his bag and pulls out a box wrapped in blue and bronze. "I didn't attempt to draw an eagle on it, but I think that the colors speak for themselves."

I smile. "Thank you," I say.

"And thank you," we exchange our gifts.

Carefully, I tear the paper. Austin, I notice, is watching me. It's a smaller wooden box engraved with Celtic designs. I lift it out. There doesn't seem to be a lid.

"Here," Austin holds out his hand. "It's a puzzle box," he explains as he slides a few of the pieces. "You just do it like this, in this order, and _voila_," it opens. "There are seven steps, by the way," he shuts the box before I can see what is inside. "You try it now."

"Okay. It went something like, no. One, two, three, four, no. Or was it…" With a little help from Austin, I figure it out on the fourth try, much to my embarrassment. I slide open the lid, and there is a piece of paper lining the bottom. I pick it up and read it.

_Rose, for all of your secrets_.

"Thank you, Austin," I say.

"Do you like it?"

"I do. Where did you find it? I've never seen a box like this before."

"I made it, actually. My uncle taught me how. He's a muggle, and just loves all kinds of puzzles."

My eyes widen. "I'm impressed. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."

He looks pleased with himself as he begins unwrapping his present.

First, he pulls out the blue scarf I'd made for him. "Thank you," he says.

"I don't know whether or not you would wear a scarf, but I've made one for every one of my friends for Christmas, at one point in time or other, and so I made one for you. It's a Rose Weasley specialty."

"I like it," he assures me. He looks back into the box. "What? What is this?" He cocks an eyebrow and I do my best to keep a straight face. He holds up a book. "Nursery rhymes?" He asks.

"You don't like it? Hmm, I was under the impression that you like to sing nursery rhymes, especially while playing Quiddich."

It takes a moment, but he finally gets the joke. "Oh, come on, Rose. That was a year ago. And it… I had lost a bet," he shakes his head, but he can't help but laugh. "Thanks for reminding me. You're such a sweetheart."

"I try," I say as innocently as possible. "By the way, there's something for you in the back of the book."

A smile appears on his face as he flips to the back and picks up a photo.

"I thought you might appreciate that."

"Did Creevey take this picture?"

"Of course. Remember he was going around snapping that camera of his like crazy a couple weeks ago? Well, I tracked him down and asked for that photo."

"This really captures the essence of friendship, doesn't it?"

I stand beside him and look at the picture. There's the two of us, studying at the library, talking and smiling every once in a while.

"Sure does."

"Thank you, Rose."

Surprisingly, we don't get any studying done. We just sit with each other and talk about our plans for the holiday until it's time to go.

I head back to my room, finish my packing, and leave for the Hogwarts Express. But not before I leave the socks, scarves, and hats for the House Elves, of course.

XXXX

On the train ride home, I sit with Austin, Albus, and Nicholas. The boys talk while I stare out the window. I'm so sad that I'm not going to get to meet Draco and Astoria Malfoy. For years I'd been looking forward to it. I'm also bummed that Scorpius won't meet my parents (though I could hardly blame him if he were actually relieved by that because, let's face it, my family is pretty much mental.)

I stand up abruptly. "I'm going to go see if I can't find Scorpius. I want to say good bye to him before the holiday," I head toward the door then stop and turn around. I point to Austin and Nicholas. "Don't you two get any ideas while I'm gone, got it? Albus is young and impressionable," I tease winking at Austin whose face turns feverishly red. Nicholas's jaw drops. Albus watches the exchange, utterly confused.

Thoroughly pleased with myself, I go on my search, but, oddly enough, he finds me as I walk through the train.

"I was just coming to talk to you," Scorpius says. "I wanted to wish you a Happy Christmas before we go our separate ways."

"Yeah, Happy Christmas. Are you excited about going to Scotland?"

"What? Oh, right. Well, actually, I haven't decided whether or not I want to go yet."

"Really?" I'm trying so hard to read his face and guess what he's thinking but, like every other time that I want a little insight, his face is a mask.

"Yeah. Bell said I could let her know the day of, and it won't be a problem."

"Do you want to go?"

"I don't know." He shakes his head. "Don't get me wrong. I would love to go and spend time with her, but it just seems a little fast, don't you think? Meeting the family. I don't know if I'm ready to feel judged in that light."

"I see."

"So, I don't know yet. I'll probably end up going just so that I can see her."

"Right."

"They aren't actually leaving until the day after tomorrow, so I have some time to think about it. And Bell is being awesome about the whole thing. She's not trying to push me one way or the other."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

We stand there not knowing what to say for a while.

"Oh," I snap my fingers. "I have an amazingly funny story to tell you. So, you know how my angelic little cousins managed to put up all that enchanted mistletoe?"

"Yeah, I got caught in it just today."

"Did a dude have to come save you?"

"What?"

"Never mind, just listen to this story of awesomeness," I tell him what Austin told me. When I finish telling the story, we're both doubled over with laughter. Scorpius recovers before I do. "I haven't heard anything that amusing in a while," he admits.

"Please don't tell him I told you. He would hate me forever."

"My lips are sealed," he assures me.

"What's so funny over here?" Bell walks toward us.

"Oh, Rose was just telling me a story. It's a good one."

"What's it about?"

"I'll have to tell you later," he winks in my direction. "Anyway, let's get going. Bye, Rose. See you soon."

"Bye," I say to the both of them.

Watching them walk away together, some thoughts pop into my head.

Maybe Scorpius is worried about meeting my parents. The way I hear it, boys can be very sensitive about that sort of thing. That would explain why he hasn't said anything to me about our plans. I can totally understand that, though. We're both perfectly aware of how most witches and wizards view the Malfoy family anymore. Things must be very tough for him, even still. I can't blame him for not wanting to meet my family, who already has a sort of bad history with his. It's sad, but maybe it's too soon.

I, on the other hand, have only just decided that I am going to go and pay a visit to the Malfoy family. And I'm not going to tell Scorpius. I don't want him to feel pressured into anything.

XXXX

The next morning, I wake up early, eat a light breakfast, and then get ready to leave. I've heard Scorpius talk about his house before, and he's told me where he lives, but I've never actually seen it. No matter. I leave the house and, when I'm out of sight, I disapparate. I haven't told anybody what I'm up to today. I don't know if dad would make a stink about it, but I'd rather just as soon avoid unnecessary drama.

I pop up in front of a modest home in northern England. It's up on a hill and the closest neighbor looks to be at least a mile down the road. A frigid wind chills me and I hurry to the door. I knock. And wait.

Slowly, the door opens, and a man who looks exactly like Scorpius, only older, answers the door. I recognize him. I've seen him at King's Cross before.

"Hi," I say brightly. "I'm Rose-"

"I know who you are," he interrupts me. "You look just like your mother," he opens the door wider. "Scorpius isn't here right now, but you're welcome to come in for a bit."

"Thank you," I hurry inside, where it's pleasantly warm.

"Would you like some tea?" Draco offers.

"Yes, please, Mr. Malfoy. Tea would be wonderful," I look around the house. It's decorated in rather bleak colors, mostly grays and blues. I follow Draco into the kitchen. I sit down at the table and he places a cup of hot tea in front of me and then serves himself as well. He sits down across from me.

"So," I begin. I realize that this might have been rude. "I'm sorry for coming here uninvited and everything, but I've been friends with Scorpius for years, and I really wanted to meet you."

Draco offers a small smile. "You are welcome in our home anytime you like, Rose. I'm glad you came. It makes me happy that Scorpius doesn't have to feel the repercussions of… my mistakes," he says hesitantly.

I know that must be a sore subject for him, so I try to change the subject. Just as I'm about to ask about his wife, I hear footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Draco? Was someone at the door?" She stops when she sees me. "Well, this is a surprise. You must be Ron and Hermione's daughter. You look just like your mother. It's Rose right? Scorpius has told me so much about you, I'm so glad we finally get to meet!"

She gives me a hug, which surprises me. I did not expect a Malfoy to be the hugging type. As for Scorpius, well, that took some training but he's finally accepted the fact that I'm a big fan of hugs.

"I'm glad to meet you, too."

The Malfoys are an interesting couple. Draco does not smile often (but when he does, his resemblance to Scorpius is uncanny) whereas there's not really a moment where Astoria isn't smiling. Astoria talks to me about everything one could imagine a woman would talk about with her son's friend. Draco adds little comments here and there. I try and remember all the stories that could be classified as embarrassing. They could prove to be used as some sort of leverage later.

Yeah. I guess it's fair to say that I really like the Malfoys.

"Oh, dear me, here we've been chatting for nearly forty minutes and all you've seen of the house is the kitchen and the hallway. Here, let me give you the grand tour."

I follow Astoria throughout the downstairs; living room, dining room, and the most wonderful room I've ever seen in my life where three and a half of the walls are covered, bottom to top, in books.

We don't go upstairs, but she tells me that it's just where the bedrooms, including one guest room, are.

We return to the heavenly room, and I browse the books while Astoria goes to make more hot tea.

"You can borrow that if you like," Draco tells me as flip through one of the books.

"Really?"

"Of course," he walks over and takes the book from me, inspects the cover, and hands it back. "That's a good one. You can send it back to us whenever you finish it. Show it to your mother, too. She would probably enjoy it."

"Thank you."

When Astoria rejoins us, we sit down and drink more tea, and I end up leaving the house with three books all together.

"Have a wonderful holiday," Astoria says as she hugs me goodbye. "Feel free to drop by anytime."

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Tell your parents that we wish them a Happy Christmas," Draco says.

"Of course."

A warm fuzzy feeling follows me out of the house, and I'm so happy that I went there. I really like them and I wish I could have met them earlier.

What were Scorpius and I so worried about? It's not a big deal, meeting your friend's parents. It's especially not awkward because we are just friends.

I get back home and open the door. "Mum, I'm home. Hey, when are we," I can hear her and dad laughing. "Mum?"

"Rose, we're in the here."

I follow the laughter and I can't believe my eyes.

My parents are sitting in the kitchen… with Scorpius Malfoy.

He smirks. "I told you I'd see you soon."

XXXX

I love Scorpius!

That's it for chapter eight! Bwahaha! Enjoy the 'cliffhanger!' Well, at least it's a happy one.

FYI, I went home to visit my family not too long ago, and while I was home, my baby sister thought it would be a great idea to rip the 'T' button off of my laptop. I have yet to fix it. The point of this story is that, although the 'T' is still functional, sometimes I'm not as careful and end up not pushing it. My spell check catches most of my mistakes, and I proofread, of course, but, for example, there might be some instances where the word 'he' will pop up and it won't make any sense. It's probably supposed to say 'the.' Just a disclaimer!

Thanks for reviewing! princecharmingprincesswit, (Yay for humor!) Lupin4Tonks, (I love your theory, but let's hope that Scorpius doesn't need something that drastic. You're going to like the next chapter.) arooma ashraf, (I'm glad that you like the way I developed the characters. I've grown rather fond of them myself. As for the storyline, yeah, it's based off of one of my personal experiences. I was feeling fantastic back then, let me tell you, lol. By the by, you sure know how to make a girl and her story feel loved. Four times in 12 hours? I'm flattered!) Herzel, (Scorpius doesn't have to feel guilty because he's so amazing, he went on his own! I'm not sure how long I'm going to drag this out. That has yet to be determined.) ilovetheoc3000, (Yeah, it sure does suck when the 'other woman' isn't a bitch who you can easily hate. I had to make the decision to make her not unlikeable.) LilyScorpius, (Yay! Review bombardment! I'm glad you like Austin and Nicholas. I tried so hard to make them likeable. I based them off of a couple guys that I know that both ended up being pretty crappy guys, but I figured Rose has enough on her plate without having to deal with stupid boys.) and Michelle Felton, (Thanks, as always!)


	9. Don't Go

One of the Guys

Chapter Nine: Don't Go

"I told you I'd see you soon," Scorpius smirks.

"You look exactly like your father when you do that," I hear mum mutter under her breath. There's a smile on her face as she says it, though.

"Scorpius!" He stands up and I run over to give him a hug. (Remember me mentioning something about having him trained? Oh, yes.) "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting your parents, of course. Did you forget? We wanted to meet each other's parents during our last holiday. Oh," he picks up one of the books that I had just laid on the table. "Apparently you haven't forgotten."

"What do you have there?" Mum asks me. "Did you go shopping this morning? Is that where you disappeared to?"

"No," I say, looking down at the ground. "I went to meet the Malfoys."

"Oh, how was that?" Dad finally speaks. I can hear it in his voice that he's trying as hard as he can to be polite.

"It was good. They were so nice, Mr. Malfoy let me borrow these books, and he said you might be interested in them too, mum," I look over at her and she's already flipping through one of them.

"Oh," she looks as if she were just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "That was generous of him."

I'm pretty sure she's claiming the one in her hands. She'll read it first and won't be able to contain herself and thus ruin the ending for me. I hate when she reads books before I do. Maybe I'll be able to avoid her for a few days…

"Rose?"

Busy devising a plan for how not to have my mother blab the entire story, I'd forgotten to pay attention to the present conversation.

"Sorry mum. What did you say?"

"I said that Scorpius is welcome to stay for dinner, unless you have any objections."

I exhale loudly, trying to sound irritated. "I wish you would have said something to me before saying it in front of him. Of course I have objections. He has absolutely no table manners; you'd think he was raised by a hippogriff. I don't want him eating with us." I sit down and offer no further explanations. Mum and dad look at each other, completely bewildered.

Scorpius, on the other hand, knows just how to react in this sort of situation.

"This is exactly what I was telling you about, Mrs. Weasley," Scorpius says to my mother. "She's a perfect angel one moment and, in the next, she's mean to me for no reason. I think it might be a serious problem," he taps the side of his head to emphasize his point. "You might want to take her to get that checked out. Might be bipolar."

Mum giggles but I shoot Scorpius a glare of death. "Yeah. Bipolar. Or I just can't stand you. Did you ever think of that one, Malfoy?"

"Impossible. You love me and you know it," he tousles my hair.

I swat his hand away. "Don't do that again," I say flatly. "I've killed for less."

"Okay, angry psycho," Scorpius backs away with his hands in the air. "I guess I'll leave then. Thanks for the invite, Mrs. Weasley, but I know when I'm not welcome."

I let him reach the door before running up behind him and put my arms around his waist. "Don't go! Of course I'd love for you to stay!"

"That's what I thought," he comments in falsely arrogant tones. Scorpius then turns to my mother. "See what I mean? Bipolar," he whispers.

"Get over yourself, Malfoy. Hey, do you want to go for a walk?"

"Sounds great," we grab our coats, scarves and gloves and head out the door. My parents watch in silence as we leave the kitchen, talking and laughing. I can imagine their confused faces.

Scorpius and I have a unique relationship, to say the least.

XXXX

"That sounds like the singularly most awesome thing I've ever heard about Christmas traditions. So you do this every year?"

"That's right," I just finished telling Scorpius about the Weasley Christmas Snowball War. "I can't believe I've never mentioned it before."

"Neither can I. I feel like you're holding out on me."

We're walking down a snow-covered path in the woods behind my house. At the end of the road lies a small pond. When the weather is warmer, my family and I often pack lunches and walk out there to enjoy a picnic.

My home is so beautiful and I love everything about it. I'm so glad that Scorpius finally came to visit. I find myself wishing that he might return, at least for a day, in the spring or summer.

"So. Tell me the truth," I say after a few steps. "What do you think of my parents?"

Scorpius contemplates this for a bit. "Well, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I think your mum is amazing. She's a lot like you. As for your dad, well, at first it was a little awkward to be around him, but I think he just needed some time to figure out that I am not my father. At least, I'm not who my father was when he was my age."

"I was going to say," I start. "You and your father seem very similar. I saw a lot of you in him. I really like your dad."

"Yeah. He's really not a bad guy, but he does prefer to be left alone. I guess I can't blame him. I think that might be why others are so quick to mistrust him."

"I did get that impression."

"He wasn't rude to you?" His face turns serious for a second.

"No, not at all. It was a little funny, actually. I started to apologize for showing up without any warning, and he said that he already knew who I was because I look so much like my mum, and then let me right in, no questions asked. And then your mother, she's such a nice lady."

"Yeah. Mum's wonderful," the way he says it, I can tell that he really looks up to her. I realize now that I didn't know that before. I'm starting to wonder if maybe he and his mum are really close.

This is the most we've ever talked about our families. It's strange. I thought I knew everything there was to know about Scorpius Malfoy, I was positive that we'd covered everything in each other's lives and that we had no secrets from each other. Yet, here we are, treading this new territory of life outside of Hogwarts. It's rather exciting, actually. This gives me some hope that there will always be something for us to learn about one another.

"Wait a minute," Scorpius stops dead in his tracks. "When you went to my house, mum didn't give you a tour of the entire house, did she?"

"Just the downstairs," I tell him. "Why?"

He breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, no reason."

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy-"

"Hey, you said the right name this time. Weird."

"Yeah, that was weird, wasn't it? I don't think I've ever used your actual middle name since you told me what it was five years ago," I shake my head. "Don't distract me! Why were you wondering if I got to see your whole house or not?"

"Er, I just… didn't want you to go into my room. It's rather messy."

I'm not convinced. He's well aware of that little fact.

"Well, see, the thing is," he starts. "First of all, do you remember when we were in our first year, and you bought me a gift for my birthday. Do you remember what it was?"

I think about this for a while. Wow, that was such a long time ago. A lot of gifts have been bought since then. But this would have been the first gift I've ever given him. What was it? Then it dawns on me.

"The dragon-pony!" I yell.

He nods.

"Didn't we name it? What did we call her? Princess something," I'm trying so hard to remember.

"Watermelon. Princess Watermelon, because she's pink and green."

"That's right. Well, what about her?"

"She's definitely been chilling on my bed, in all her pink glory, for the past six years or so. I didn't want you to see that in case you'd forgotten that you gave it to me as a gift. I don't just go out and buy pink things to use as decoration for my room."

"You kept her?" I can't believe it. She was definitely the most cutesy-looking stuffed animal I could find in the store. She resembles what a baby would look like if a dragon mated with a pony. I bought it for him as a joke.

"Of course I kept her," he says as if I'm crazy for even suggesting that he get rid of it.

"Wow. That's… special."

"Oh, shut up, Rose," his cheeks are turning red and that has nothing to do with the cold. "That's the first gift a girl who I'm not related to gave me. Not only that, you're my best friend," I can tell that he's getting slightly uncomfortable. "P. W. has a lot of sentimental value."

"P. W.?"

"Yeah, for Princess Water-"

"Oh, I figured it out, I just think it's funny," I have a huge smile on my face by this point. "That's really sweet, Scorpius. I didn't realize that my gift meant that much to you. If I had known, maybe I would have bought you a proper present. Something slightly less embarrassing to display. Maybe I would have bought you an action figure, or at least a stuffed dragon with a little less pink."

He shakes his head. "No, no you wouldn't have. I think that, subconsciously, you knew how I would treasure your gift regardless of what it was, thus making it all the more important that it be the most 'de-masculine-izing' thing in the world. But, that's okay. I'm over it."

"You know, you're probably right."

"You're really something, Rosie," there's a softness in his eyes as he says this.

I love him so much.

"Anyway, speaking of gifts, I haven't bought one for you yet," Scorpius admits.

"Oh, how dare you?" I roll my eyes. He knows that I wouldn't care if he gave me a Christmas gift in March. Which, actually, happened once. It's a long story about indecisiveness. "Honestly, I haven't gotten anything for you yet, either. You're so damn hard to buy presents for!"

"The same can be said about you Miss I-Have-Everything-I-Could-Ever-Possibly-Need. I'm going to have to resort to buying you ink and quills for Christmas if you don't start wanting things."

Inevitably, if he ever asks what I want for my birthday or for Christmas, I never have anything in mind. _It doesn't matter,_ is a typical response. How frustrating that must be!

"Oh, I know! Maybe you could get me something from Scotland!" I say excitedly. "Some bagpipes, or a kilt even. Hey, maybe you should get yourself a kilt!"

"Yeah. Maybe," he seems less than amused by the idea.

"Or I should get you a kilt before you go over there, and really add to your 'de-masculine-ization.' What do you think?"

"I think you're mental."

We spend the rest of the afternoon talking, bantering, laughing, etc. etc. and so forth. By the time we get back to the house, just in time for dinner, I'm well aware that my cheeks are sore from smiling so much.

This day has been fantastic. It's been such a long time since Scorpius and I have had this much time to talk. I'm sad that I probably won't see him again until we get back to school.

XXXX

"Have you made up your mind about Scotland yet?" I realize that he hadn't told me his decision. He's supposed to leave tomorrow.

We just finished eating dinner. It was nice. My family didn't embarrass me too badly. Now I'm helping Scorpius gather his things.

Sighing, he confesses, "I'm not totally sure, but I'll probably end up going."

"You really don't want to, do you?" I ask, slightly surprised. I can't think of why he wouldn't want to go. "Is there any particular reason?" It's a serious question. I want to help him figure out what he wants.

He's such a big help, too. In response, he shrugs. What a putz.

"Well, let's think about this. Let's find out what the good things about going are, and then compare them to the bad things."

"Rose."

"What?"

"Calling them 'good things' and 'bad things' doesn't hide the fact that you're trying to make a pros and cons list."

I laugh.

When we were in our fourth year, I had this terrible habit. I could not, for the life of me, make a decision without making a list of pros and cons. Scorpius was totally unforgiving about it, too. If we would be walking somewhere together, he would purposefully ask me to make several decisions about the most asinine things he could think up. Eventually it became so much of a hassle and I've mellowed out considerably since that time.

"Call it what you will, but it's still a great way to make a good choice about something. So, that being said, answer the question. Let's name some good things about going. First of all, there's the obvious. You'll be able to spend time with Bell. You'll get to meet her family. You'll get to go to Scotland," while I'm counting off the reasons he should go, it's all I can do to stop myself from saying 'Don't go.'

I need to get over it, and the sooner the better. For both of us.

So, maybe there won't ever be any sort of romance between Scorpius and me. I'm totally okay with that. We have such an amazing connection anyway that I should just count my blessings and be thankful that he's even a part of my life. Friends like him don't come along very often. And, look. We can still have an amazing time just hanging out. If nothing more comes of our relationship, then so be it. I'm happy that he found someone like Bell.

"Rose," he interrupts me and there's something strange about the way that he says my name. I can't put my finger on it. He says it almost… pleadingly?

"What's up?" He's staring intently into my eyes.

He grabs my hands. We're standing so close. He breathes deeply. "Tell me not to go."

Everything in the room fades away. Everything… except for him.

XXXX

Yes, that is the end of the ninth chapter, mwahaha. Don't worry. You'll get over it. Trust me, to end it here makes it so much more dramatic.

Yay! We are finally getting somewhere!

By the by I'm so glad everybody that reviewed approved of the hint o' slash that I slipped into chapter eight. I was worried that someone might take offense, or something silly like that.

Thanks for reviewing! PadfootPatronus, (There's going to be some sort of weird love triangle, or love square, or love polygon going on, let me tell you. Dude, I cannot believe I haven't written Scorpius into more of this story! My gosh, he's such a fun character. I feel like I've been missing out. Oh well. He'll be popping up quite a bit from here on out.) bookluvr4life, (Yeah… none of my boyfriends, or even just guy friends, have met my dad. That will be an awkward day for all of us when that time comes, let me tell you.) LilyScorpius, (Ah, younger siblings. Gotta love 'em. Anyway, I rescued you from one cliffie, only to dangle you from another, mwahaha!) Shiva's Girl, (Awesome! 20/10, eh? Glad you enjoyed it so much. I hope I don't let you down.) 00jade, (Yeah, we went from one could-be-awkward cliffie right to another.) princecharmprincesswit, (Apparently, Scorpius is tired of dancing around. He's finally going to make a move! It's about time!) Lupin4Tonks, (Your review made me giggle. It gave me this evil pleasure knowing that you possibly embarrassed yourself in front of people you work with, mwahaha! I'm just teasing. Happy to make you laugh!) RafJK, (Teehee, I was giggling when I wrote the Austin/Nicholas part. I think my roommate thinks I'm crazy. I'm glad that you weren't expecting Scorpius to visit the Weasleys, actually. Makes me feel like my story's not completely predictable.) IcySweetXIII, (Thanks, dude!) JessFantasy16, (Hey, you're back! I thought you'd disappeared! As for the fluff… Well, I'm just not very good at writing fluffy things. I'll give it more of a try later if/when the opportunity presents itself.) LittlePattenrond, (Yay for stumbling across my story! As for the Mary-Sue thing, well, I based the characters on people I know and NONE of them are Mary-Sue-ish, thank goodness.) Missdagane, (You have no idea how giggly I was when I finished chapter eight. I just kept thinking, oh my gosh Scorpius is such a wonderful guy, and that's when I realized that I really do love Scorpius's character. He's very sweet.) arooma ashraf, (Hi! Glad you liked how I ended the last chapter, all suspenseful-like. I hope you enjoy this one as well. Yeah, I find that I'm not very good at keeping up with a lot of characters. I forget Albus exists half the time, and Lily's boyfriend? Well… he's just sort of there. I do love the relationship between Scorpius and Rose. I based it off my friendship with a guy, who now lives a few hundred miles away from me, so sad. Hey! I HEART long reviews. The more random/blabbering/'chummy' the better in my opinion. Helps me figure out what you're thinking. Sort of. And they definitely don't waste my time. (That's what homework is for, silly. Yay for summer classes!) Anyway, take care!) and RavenclawAmber. (Yeah, dude. I wasn't sure about the point of view at first, either. It was a bit challenging writing like that when I first started, but now I love it. Thanks for reading!)


	10. Perfect

One of the Guys

Chapter Ten: Perfect

"Tell me not to go."

I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think. I don't know how to feel. I just don't know.

And not knowing is killing me. It's killing us both.

"Rose," Scorpius says softly, taking a step closer to me.

It surprises me when I instinctively take a step back.

He stops, an unsure expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," I voice the mantra that had been repeating itself over and over again in my head.

Scorpius looks so strange to me right now. He looks nervous and, I can't believe it, vulnerable. Let me tell you, Scorpius Malfoy is not a very direct, frankly speaking kind of person. It must have been a struggle for him to say what he just said.

And all I can do is stare at him.

I don't want to, though. I want to run into his arms, tell him not to go, and give him the kiss that I've been longing to give him.

But I find that I cannot.

"Rose," he says again. "Say something, Rose."

"I don't know what to say," I feel as if it's not actually me doing the talking. Someone else is controlling my body right now, they must be. The Rose Weasley I know has already thought this scenario through seven trillion times and it doesn't involve her remaining silent.

He looks more worried than ever. "Tell me not to go," he repeats and takes a cautious step closer to me.

This time, I don't back away. Instead, I lift my hand and place it on his shoulder. I watch as my fingers slide from his shoulder, to his neck, to his face. Absently, I push a lock of blonde hair away from his eyes. "Don't go," I finally manage to say.

Relief washes over his face and he moves closer still. I put both my hands on his chest to stop him. "I don't want you to go, but we can't do this."

Comprehension shows in his eyes. He still has a girlfriend.

A certain curiosity grows in me. "How long have you felt this way?"

"Let's put it this way," he says. "You're the first girl I ever had a crush on." His eyes widen. "You… you do feel the same way, right? I hope I haven't misjudged this situation that much."

I nod. "It took me a while to realize it, but there you have it."

There is something else bothering me. I know how uncomfortable this might make him, but I need to know. "Why?"

He cocks an eyebrow and I'm reminded that, as well as Scorpius usually knows what I'm thinking, this conversation is about to delve into uncharted waters.

"Why did you start dating Bell?" I'm trying so hard to keep any hurt and all accusing tones out of my voice. "I was waiting for you."

"And I waited for you," his eyes bore into mine. "You don't understand. Last year, well, I thought that you liked me then. And I was so sure that we would get together. Then Connor came out of nowhere. I would have said something, but you looked so happy.

"I didn't want to be single. I couldn't be. It was better if I had a girlfriend because, you know me, I could never cheat on anyone, and I know you would never, either. So I dated Rachel so that I would be less… tempted. It sounds stupid, I know, but that's how I thought. And then, when you broke up with Connor, and I'd felt that enough time had passed that you were truly over him, I saw the same thing happening again. I saw you with Austin. And I saw you with Nicholas. I remember thinking that one of them is going to have to deal with some heartache. I couldn't put myself in a position to feel that way. Not again."

I take in his words slowly. "I told you there was nothing going on between Austin and me."

Scorpius shakes his head. "I just wasn't sure. I couldn't put myself out there like that again. Now that I know, though," he begins. "Now that I know you don't have those feelings for either of them, I just need you to know. I need you to know now, before I lose my courage to say it," his face is drained of color. He looks so nervous. I can't even fathom how bizarre this must feel for him. He's not the kind of person who lets other see his emotions, and most of the time he relies on me just knowing. "I've had this seemingly one-sided crush on you for such a long time that I started trying to convince myself that it'd be better if we just stayed friends. But I'm apparently not that persuasive. It's always been you, Rose. I've always wanted you."

I have been waiting so long to hear him say that. I'm breathing so slowly right now. I feel almost as if I'm in a dream. I'm on the outside looking in on our conversation. And that is how I see what happens next.

Scorpius leans toward me. His face gets closer every second. But it doesn't feel right. I place my hands on his chest once more. "We can't," I say firmly. "I don't want our first kiss to…" I can't find the right words. "You have a girlfriend," is all I can say to express my feelings. I don't want the knowledge that, somewhere out there, there's a girl whose boyfriend is kissing another girl. She doesn't deserve that at all.

Scorpius steps back and we take in the full sight of each other. "I understand," his breath is shaky. "And I think that you're right. I would want our first kiss to be under different circumstances." There's a painful look in his eyes and I want nothing more than to hold him and comfort him. Everything can and will be all right.

I find the urge to touch him overwhelming. Slowly, carefully, I make my way toward him. First, I take his hands and look into his eyes. We are almost there. We are both so close to having what we want, what we have wanted for a very long time. In a matter of seconds, I'm hugging him. He holds me gently.

Now that I'm fully aware of what is going on, of what is about to happen, I can scarcely contain my excitement. Scorpius and I are finally going to move past our friendship and onto the next stage!

I'm enjoying this so much right now, just being close to him. I could stay like this forever.

"Oh, Rose, before Scorpius leaves," mum and dad walk into the room.

We jump apart.

"Oh, sorry," mum averts her eyes whereas my dad watches us suspiciously.

"Mum, it's okay. I was just giving him a hug goodbye."

"Right," she laughs uncomfortably. "Anyway. Scorpius, I just wanted to let you know that you're welcome in our home any time you like. Don't be a stranger."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley."

I watch mum push dad out of the room and shut the door behind them.

Scorpius plants a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Wait for me," he says before leaving.

He disappears. My heart is beating furiously. I run upstairs to my room, close the door, and jump onto my bed. I grab hold off all my pillows and blankets and scream into them. When my face emerges, I'm smiling like a crazy loon.

There's no way! All this time… And he has felt the same way about me! This is the best day ever! I jump up and start twirling in circles.

Dizzy, I steady myself by holding onto the back of my chair. That's when I notice a piece of parchment, folded in half, on my dresser. I pick it up.

There is a rose drawn on it.

Weird.

I think back. I did let Scorpius come up and see my room for about 3.4 seconds when I gave him a tour of the house. (I'm sure dad would have had a fit if I would have let him stay in there longer.) He must have placed it there when I wasn't looking.

_So, if you're reading this, it means that I finally decided to man up and tell you about my feelings for you. I'm really nervous, FYI._

_Well, I just want to let you know that, regardless of what your reaction is, I'm going to break up with Bell. I don't want to pretend anymore. She's a sweet girl, and I'll feel bad for hurting her, but I think that it might hurt her more if she finds out that my heart belongs to someone else._

_Again, regardless of your reaction, I still want to be friends at least. If you do refuse me, I might be a little upset at first, but I promise I'll come around. It's just that I would be… embarrassed, you know? I'll always love you. No matter what._

_If the opposite happens, well, expect me back sometime tomorrow._

The M is drawn at the bottom.

Question: Do you think I was able to sleep that night?

XXXX

Fact: A girl can get approximately 150 minutes of sleep and still wake up totally refreshed in the morning as long as she has nothing but wonderful thoughts run through her mind all night.

"Why are you so chipper this morning?" Mum asks me as I help her serve breakfast.

"Oh, I'm just so excited about Christmas," I answer.

She pats my head. "You make me smile. Oh, by the way, I finished that book last night and," I will most certainly not let her finish that statement.

"Mum! How did you finish it so fast?" It's the only diversion I could come up with on such short notice.

"She disappeared into her study all day long yesterday," Dad explains over his cup of coffee as he sits reading the newspaper.

"It was a really great book!" She defends herself. "Oh, Rose you'll absolutely love it. There's this one part in it where," I knock a dish onto the floor.

"Oops," I bend over to pick it up. I hear dad choke on a laugh behind his paper. I know it has nothing to do with what he's reading.

"It's okay, darling," mum uses magic to clean the mess I made on purpose.

"Anyway, like I was saying," mum tries again. Okay, you don't understand. My mother does not understand the concept of keeping certain things to oneself. Things such as spoilers for books. She's under the impression that, well, you're going to figure it out eventually so it's not a big deal if she blabs the end.

I'm running out of diversions. So help me, my next move is going to be to cast a silencing spell on the woman.

Fortunately, for the both of us, dad finally decides to come to my aid.

"Hey, Rosie, when is your friend going to come back? I really like him," gee, dad. You couldn't have said something a bit more natural? Dad has never approved of my having any boy as a friend, and he most certainly does not like any of my boyfriends.

"Oh, yes," mum doesn't notice and is successfully sidetracked. I breathe a sigh of relief. "Scorpius really is a charming boy. You should invite him for dinner again tonight. Grandma and Grandpa Granger are going to come over. I'm sure he'll enjoy Grandma's peach chicken dish."

That is my absolute favorite dish ever, and Grandma only makes it a couple times a year. I almost forget that we are talking about having Scorpius join us for dinner. Almost.

"I'll let him know about it."

Of course, he apparently already plans on coming over today anyway. I can't wait!

I return to helping mum with breakfast. We sit down to eat just as Hugo stumbles groggily into the kitchen and makes a crash landing on his chair. He's not much of a morning person, to say the least.

We eat in silence for a couple minutes and then, "Oh, Rose. Like I was saying, you're really going to enjoy this book."

I throw my arms up in a frustrated surrender and hear a bark of laughter come from behind dad's newspaper.

XXXX

After helping mum clean the kitchen, I decide to go for a walk outside. The air is cold but I don't care. It feels so refreshing, and I take advantage of the chance to clear my head.

Wow. Finally. Scorpius and I have finally told each other about our true feelings. I couldn't be happier if I tried. Granted, there's still some fine print to be worked through, but I'm perfectly okay with that. We've both been waiting for a long time for this moment, what's another day?

I walk by one of the trees in my yard. Years and years ago, dad hung a swing from one of the branches. I'm in a rather reminiscent mood, so I go and have a seat. The tree branch creaks and moans from my weight when I sit down. Apparently, I'm reminiscing about a time where there wasn't snow on the tree and said snow didn't fall on top of my head. As it turns out, gravity works.

Laughing, I brush the snow from my shoulders. Smartest witch in Hogwarts, that's me. I admire the beautiful white ground, pure but for the footprints I just made.

Hmm… Well, why not? I plop myself onto the ground and move my arms and legs to make a snow angel. It's been way too long since I've done this. I close my eyes and just simply breathe.

Scorpius.

He's all I can think about.

I'm vaguely aware of the branch creaking again. It must be the wind.

"Your mum said I might find you out here."

I sit up quick as lightning. Scorpius is sitting on the swing.

And, in case you're wondering, gravity still works. More snow looses itself from the tree and falls on my head.

Unable to contain himself, Scorpius starts laughing. I'm glad to see that his newly professed affections for me haven't changed his sense of humor. Really. I'm glad.

And to show exactly how much I appreciate him, I toss a snowball into his face when he's not looking. That shuts him up. It surprises him, too. He falls off the swing backwards and it's my turn to laugh.

I stand up, grab the ropes of the swing, place a knee on the seat, and lean forward. Amused, he sits up and just smiles.

"So," I say slowly. "Did you," I want to ask about Bell, but he doesn't let me finish my question.

In response, he hops to his feet and, before I realize what's happening, he has his arms wrapped around my waist. Carefully, I step through the ropes so that the swing is no longer between us. I wrap my arms around his shoulders. We stand there, trapped in each other's gaze until I can no longer stand it.

"Kiss me," I breathe.

He's only too happy to oblige. The words no sooner leave my mouth than his lips are upon my own. This is it! Our first kiss! This is going to be the most memorable, most perfect kiss of my life. I just know it.

At first, we're both very shy, kissing gently. He moves a hand up my back and pulls me closer. Our kiss deepens for a second.

Why only a second? Well, that's because one of us (or maybe both of us) gets a little over eager and we end up banging each other's front teeth.

I cover my mouth to hide my smile and muffle my giggle when we move apart.

Scorpius chuckles as a blush colors his face. "I'm sorry, Rose. That is definitely not how I imagined our first kiss. I didn't mean to almost chip your tooth."

We have a good laugh about it. I can't keep the smile off my face and all attempts at another kiss are made rather difficult because of this.

Scorpius resorts to kissing my nose, then my forehead, and then the top of my head as he embraces me tightly.

"I love you," he whispers into my hair. For the first time ever, I don't hear a 'but' attached at the end. He loves me, plain and simple.

"I love you too."

Well, it's not the perfect, passionate kiss I'd been dreaming of, but it's one that I will always remember. And that, in itself, makes it perfect.

XXXX

And they got married and had babies and lived happily ever after. The end. Er, I'm totally just kidding. This is most definitely not the end. I can guarantee at least two more chapters that will deal with their return to Hogwarts after the holiday. Then, however, I think it will be time to put this story to rest. About the marriage and babies part, though… well… no, let's not get into that. That's a whole other can o' worms right there.

By the by, in case you're interested, the kiss/tooth-banging incident... totally happened to me with somebody I dated in my senior year of high school. I will always remember our first kiss because of that, lol.

Thanks for being so awesome and reviewing!

**PadfootPatronus**, (Teehee… I'm sorry for the evil cliffhanger. …-ish. But look, this chapter was nice and conclusive!) **Ninelli**, (xbowsx Always happy to do what isn't completely expected.) **FollowingTheInkTrail**, (Thanks for all the awesome reviews, I'm glad you stumbled across my story. Well, Ron didn't kill Scorpius, but you did provide me with that bit o' inspiration for something awkward to happen. Thanks! I hope I didn't leave you hanging too long. Oh, and thank you for reviewing my other stories too. Take care!) **hahasxybitch**, **Shiva'sGirl**, (Mwahaha, not a fan of the cliffie, eh? Well, I hope you enjoyed this installment. Enjoy the rest of your holiday!) **ZoE EarthcastlE**, **trobairiz**, (I totally agree with you. If I wanted to write a story where the boy was a jerk, I'd go back to writing Draco/Hermione. No, I like that we don't know anything about these characters and I can make them act however I darn well please. They most certainly are not their parents. As for the reality of their relationship, it's based on my friend and me so it's pretty legitimate.) **princecharmprincesswit**, (Teehee, sorry about dangling you from Mt. Everest. Anyway, I'll probably write a couple more chapters.)** Arooma Ashraf**, (That's a really good idea, with the plan to make Rose jealous and all that, but, sadly, I wasn't that creative. I didn't even think of that. By the by, I was just having this conversation about my age with a friend of mine not too long ago. I'm about to turn 20, and I act like I'm 12 a good amount of the time. I blame coffee. It makes me all kinds of crazy and is thus responsible for about 20 percent of my personality, lol. Take care!) **brokenstitches**, (I'm glad you loved the ending of the last chapter. A lot of my other reviewers were tossing up death threats, lol. I hoped you enjoyed this one's ending just as much!) **HarmonieFan**, **I-Heart-Werewolves**, (Let me just tell you, your review had me giggling for quite a while. Um, everything except the part about jumping off a building. Not such a good idea. But the eye twitch really had me laughing. Um, yeah, I'm a simple girl amused by simple things.) **RavenclawAmber**, **Lupin4Tonks**, (Mwahaha. As you can tell from my maniacal laugh, I am just an evil kind of person, lol. Anyway, I'm hoping you enjoyed the end of this chapter. P.S. Yeah, I make a fool of myself at work a lot too. Everybody's always so serious, so I like to toss humor around whenever possible. Take care.) **jesusfreak917**, (Hey, I got this chapter up extra early so that you didn't have to wait so long. But, admittedly, I am still quite cruel for ending like that last time anyway. Mwahaha.) **Requiem for a Sunburst,** (I agree. They spent such a wonderful afternoon together, and now they're going to spend lots of wonderful afternoons together! Yay!) **JessFantasy16**, (Teehee, no worries. Um, it would make more sense if I knew what you thought was about to happen. Let me know if it did happen… if that made any sense, lol.) **RedWingNut**, (Thank you for dealing ever so well with my intentionally frustrating cliffie, lol.) **Herszel**, (Oh, I'm sorry you were disappointed by that chapter, but good to know that I have redeemed myself. As for my sense of humor… Yeah, it's totally dependent on my mood. I've been in a really good mood lately, so I've been completely random with the humor in the story. I like it, though.) **FieldHockeyLover17**, (xbowsx I am quite evil. I hope that you enjoyed the update.) **iluvtheoc3000**, (You love me and you know it.) **happilycharmed**, (HEY! YOU'RE BACK! My goodness, I thought you'd run away from my story. I was really excited to see you review again because, well, you're pretty much the reason that I'm even writing this story and didn't just stop at chapter one. Thanks for that kick in the behind, and I hope you liked this chapter.) **Michelle Felton**, (Life ain't fair, darling.Take for instance, if life were fair, I'd have a zillion dollars. I think I deserve it. ...Totally just kidding. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!) **msfriday22**, (I love writing banter! It's my favorite.) **bookluvr4life**, (You don't hate me, silly goose. And, yeah, Scorpius is modeled after a guy friend of mine. Again, the only difference is that Scorpius has a pair, lol.) **JJ**, (They make me smile, too.) **Hagger10**, (Teehee, I hope I didn't make you wait too long.) and **xKirstinax**. (I messaged you already, but, yeah, I totally do watch Gilmore Girls. That was the inspiration for the pros/cons list joke, but I had totally forgotten about Logan telling Rory to tell him not to go. I kind of had a love/hate relationship with Logan's character, lol. I liked him sometimes, others I wanted to kick him in the shin.)


	11. Confrontation

One of the Guys

Chapter Eleven: Confrontation

The snow-covered landscape rushes by as I watch from aboard the Hogwarts Express. I can't believe it's already time to go back. Scorpius and I spent nearly every day together. Mum was happy (she thinks Scorpius is absolutely charming) and dad eventually got used to the idea of his little girl bringing a boy around the house. (When first confronted about the amount of time we spent together, I merely asked my father, "Wouldn't you rather have us here where you can keep an eye on us? Or would you prefer if I disappeared for the entire day, possibly getting into all sorts of mischief?" He ended up seeing it my way.)

I'm vaguely aware of the goings-on around me. Hugo and Albus are in a heated debate about their favorite Quiddich players, Lily and Zack are telling one another about how they spent their time apart and about how much they missed each other. How cute. Bell is sitting with us too. She's staring out the window, just as I am.

Scorpius and I haven't told anybody about our relationship yet. As of right now, only our immediate family knows. I guess people will find out when they see us together at school, right?

Scorpius didn't tell me exactly what he said when he broke up with Bell, but that's okay. It's between the two of them, and I respect their privacy. All he told me was that he didn't tell her about us, and that she took the whole thing rather well. She didn't even cry.

Still, judging by the way she's acting, I wonder if maybe something is bothering her. I'm not exactly trying to engage Bell in a conversation, but she hasn't looked at me even once. Is it possible that she knows?

I'm overcome with a sense of guilt and I get up to leave. Nobody seems to notice. Guilt. I don't know why I feel guilty. I didn't do anything.

I'm able to find an empty compartment. I slip inside, close the curtain on the door, and stand at the window. I can feel it in my gut that something bad is going to happen. As of late, it seems like every time something in my life goes how I want it to, something else goes terribly wrong. So, here I am, just waiting for that bad thing to happen.

I hear the door open behind me. I look in the reflection of the window and my stomach drops to my toes.

It's Bell.

"Rose. Can I talk to you?"

My heartbeat quickens with anticipation. This can't be good. She closes the door behind her.

"So, I assume that you've already heard," she says slowly. I wonder if it's the way she's speaking, or if I'm just imagining it. "Scorpius broke up with me." Her face is blank as she says this and I can't even begin to gauge her emotions.

I nod. I don't trust myself to speak.

Something in her expression changes. Her head droops. When she looks up again, her face is red and tears are trickling down her face.

She moves toward me and I let her fall into my arms as she begins sobbing into my shoulder. I raise my hand and pat her on the back, unsure of what else to do.

She begins to speak. "What did I do wrong? Everything was going so well! I don't understand. Why would he break up with me?"

So she doesn't know. Nothing could have prepared me for this conversation. I almost wish she had confronted me to accuse me of stealing him away from her. That, at least, I could have handled. I could have explained that to her.

With her in this state, however, all I can do is whisper, "I'm sorry."

She sniffles and I reach in my pocket for a tissue. She accepts it and dabs at her eyes and then at her nose. "You're his best friend, Rose. Tell me, what did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," the words come out barely louder than my breathing. I can't do this.

"Was it because I asked him to go to Scotland with me? Was that moving too quickly? I just wanted to spend time with him, I didn't mean to scare him away."

The door opens again but Bell doesn't even notice. I look up and see Lily standing in the doorway. Our eyes meet, and I'm positive that she can see right through me but she doesn't say a word. Lily reaches out and gets Bell's attention. I watch her collapse into her best friend's arms and continue sobbing.

"I'll talk with her," Lily states. Her eyes follow me even as I leave. When I'm by myself again, I exhale deeply. My heart aches for the girl, it really does. I didn't want to put her in this position. I walk through the train until I spot Scorpius, sitting with a group of Slytherins. I motion for him to come talk to me.

"Hey, gorgeous," he smiles at first. When he sees me, though, his face becomes shadowed with concern. "What's up?"

"I don't know if I can do this."

"What?"

"I just saw Bell. She asked me why you would break up with her. She figured I might know because I'm your best friend, but what am I supposed to tell her?"

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing. I just let her cry."

"She was crying?"

He looks as if I had just smacked him across the face.

"She seemed alright when I talked to her," he says, more to himself than to me.

"She probably didn't want you to see her upset," I offer.

He scratches his head. "I don't know what to say. I broke up with her," I know that he's thinking that that should have been the end of it, but we both know that it isn't. "I told her that I couldn't see the two of us together, and that's true. That is the way that I feel and I cannot help that. I feel bad for her, but if we would have stayed together longer, I know for a fact that I wouldn't have made her happy. I just," he crosses his arms and leans against the wall. "I don't know what to do to make this easier for her. All I can think of is," he looks at me. "If you wouldn't mind, we probably shouldn't flaunt our relationship, at least not for a couple weeks."

I nod. I know that Scorpius loves me. I know that he's not embarrassed, nor would he, under other circumstances, want to hide our relationship. He just doesn't want to be cold toward Bell. We both know that she doesn't deserve that.

"Of course. We can do that," the words come out a lot more somber than I'd meant for and so Scorpius leans forward to kiss me on the forehead.

"Don't worry. We'll get through this. No problem."

I smile. "We will."

I head back to sit with the others.

"Hey," he calls after me. I turn around to see him mouth something that could be either "I love you," or "Olive juice." I hope it was the former. Otherwise, my boyfriend is beyond random.

XXXX

It's a lot easier than I thought it would be. Going back to school, I mean. I thought that Scorpius and I would have problems adjusting or trying to keep our secret but we're doing just fine. The only other person in the school who knows is my brother, and he isn't much of a big talker as it is.

Realistically, not much has changed. We still go to the Shrieking Shack nearly every Saturday with our friends, we play on our separate Quiddich teams, I meet up with Austin for our study sessions (he's much more motivated in his schoolwork thank my boyfriend), yet I still spend whatever time I can with Scorpius.

Nicholas, however, is acting strangely. We've been back to school now for about two weeks and he's already asked me to hang out with him on numerous occasions. I went to Hogsmeade with him once, but I didn't really feel comfortable with him.

I get the feeling that he might still have a crush on me, and I don't know what to do about it. I've made several attempts to let him know that I'm not interested.

Scorpius isn't much help in that department, by the way. It's late at night and we're hiding out on top of one of the towers. It's cold out, but nothing a little magical fire can't take care of. That and, of course, we're holding each other closely while snuggling under a blanket.

I'm tracing circles on his hand with my finger when I finally tell him my suspicions about Nicholas and his crush. He merely laughs. What a useless boyfriend! Isn't he supposed to get angry and threaten to kill any boy who even looks at me? Nope. I have to be stuck with an understanding boyfriend who doesn't want to get involved in my personal business. I have to have a boyfriend who doesn't get jealous when I talk to other guys. How irritating.

Haha, sometimes I think crazy things.

Scorpius is perfect, and I love that he trusts me to take care of this on my own.

Besides, we both decided that it's about time that we let others know about our relationship. We're tired of hiding it. In order to save them from hearing it from someone else, however, I'm going to tell Nicholas and Scorpius is going to tell Bell. We agree that they should be the first ones to know.

XXXX

So maybe I wasn't exactly clear with Nicholas before. Well, I'm going to make him understand this time. I wait for him after practice one Sunday morning. We walk back to the castle together. Okay. Now or never. I'm going to put an end to this crush of his.

We stop outside of the castle doors.

"Nicholas, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" He leans on his broomstick.

I begin talking fast, trying to get everything out in one breath. "Well, I kind of get the feeling that you like me as maybe more than a friend. I'm flattered, truly, and I think that you're a really nice, quality guy, but it's not going to work between us. I know that we've hung out a few times, and I'm sorry if maybe you saw a relationship happening between the two of us, but I don't. I," I stop in order to breathe. "I like someone else. Actually, I'm dating someone. We've been keeping it low-key. I just needed to let you know," I've given it some thought as to whether or not to mention my having a boyfriend, and I do believe that the only way to make Nicholas understand how serious I am is to have a concrete reason as to why I can't date him.

"Oh," is all he says. Then, what seems like an eternity later, he says, "I didn't see that coming. Er, I guess I maybe did like you as more than a friend," I had known that that was the case, but I was hoping I was wrong. I don't care if I would have looked like a fool. That would have made this so much easier. "That is, I _did_ but, you know, if you have a boyfriend, then I'll respect that and back off," he states coolly.

"Nicholas," I don't know what to say here.

He shakes his head. "No, don't be sorry or anything, Rose. I guess I should have taken you more seriously when you dropped those hints about not wanting to date me. I was thinking you were just playing hard to get."

I decide that I might owe him a bit of an explanation. "I've had some strong feelings for someone for quite a while now. We just started dating and I'm curious to see where this takes us. It's nothing you did, Nicholas, and there's nothing you should have done differently. You're a great friend. I'm sorry if I led you on."

He smiles and, much to my relief, it's a genuine smile. He's not forcing it to try and placate me. "It's okay Rose, really. I'm not angry at you for being honest with me. I am thankful, though, that you said something to me before I made a made myself look stupid. In the meantime, we can still be friends. Nothing has to be weird between us, right?"

"That sounds perfect to me. Let's be friends. Thank you for understanding."

He nods his head. "Good. I didn't want this to affect our Quiddich team. See you around, then," he turns to leave but stops. "Oh, if you don't mind me prying, are you dating Malfoy?"

I don't answer him. "How?" I begin. "I mean," I start again.

He laughs. "I figured. I'm happy for the two of you. And, really, it's about time."

That's the great thing about Nicholas. He's so very laid back and doesn't seem affected by things the way other people are. I'm sure his feelings might be a little hurt, and I wouldn't be surprised if he acts a bit differently around me for a while, but I'm positive that everything will be back to normal soon.

I smile with relief, but my happiness is short-lived. I hear someone call my name from behind.

Oh no. I'd forgotten that Bell had showed up to meet Lily at the end of our Quiddich practice. She's walking up the hill with Lily and Hugo. They must have heard our conversation. How hadn't I noticed? Damn it! For two weeks I was walking on eggshells, I didn't slip up even once. Now I've just gone and admitted the whole bloody thing in front of her. Damn it!

Bell marches up to me. "How could you do this?" There was so much hurt in her expression. I can't even blame her.

I've been dreading this moment. The moment she finds out. "Bell, I," she doesn't let me finish.

"Are you the reason he broke up with me? How long has this been going on? Since before Christmas?" This is the loudest I've ever heard her yell.

Okay. I'm having flashbacks to my conversation with Connor and that upsets me a little. I don't care how mad she is. She shouldn't accuse us of that. "Bell, listen to me. I'm only going to tell you this once. Scorpius and I are dating now, but we never did anything while the two of you were still together," I explain. I can feel my patience dwindling quickly. Why should I have to account for my actions? I didn't do anything wrong!

"Why should I believe you? You're hiding your relationship now. What else are you being dishonest about?"

"We didn't want to hurt your feelings," I retort, my fists clenching and unclenching. I don't really see this turning into a physical thing, but her words are making me so mad that I sure as hell wouldn't mind punching something right about now. "You can stand there and yell at me all you want to try and make me feel guilty, but you're not going to make me break up with Scorpius. Besides, if you hadn't been eavesdropping on a conversation that had nothing to do with you, you would have found out later today anyway. Scorpius was going to tell you in person. We're not trying to hide it anymore."

Bell looks furious.

"Don't be angry with Rose," Lily speaks up. "She and Scorpius have been friends forever," she glances at me. "It just took them a while but they finally figured out that they both wanted more. They no longer simply love each other, but they've actually fallen in love. You can't fault her for that. You can't fault either of them. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Bell's face is still contorted in anger. I don't think her best friend's words mean much to her. All she knows is that she was hurt, and I'm part of the reason for that.

"Lily's right," Hugo adds. Bell turns her attention to my brother and she's silent for a long time. I can almost see her thoughts rotating in her head.

"It was going to happen, there were just a few obstacles in the way at first." He clears his throat before continuing. I find that even I'm interested in what he has to say. "It was a vicious cycle, really. When Scorpius asked you out, he set aside his feelings for Rose so that he might experience something new. It's the same thing that Rose did to him last year when she went out with Connor," he takes a breath and looks down at his shoes. "And it's the same thing that you did to me when you started dating Scorpius."

At the same exact moment, all three of our jaws drop and we gape at Hugo. Apparently, none of us had even considered Hugo's feelings in the matter. He's such a quiet boy that I had no idea whether or not he had felt anything toward Bell. I'd always assumed that it was a one-sided crush. Seeing the pain on his face now, however, I realize that Hugo had indeed been hurt by Scorpius and Bell's relationship… maybe almost as much as I had.

Bell seems to realize it too. "Hugo," she starts. He looks at her again. "Can you please excuse us," her words are meant for Lily and me. We scurry inside the castle as fast as we can. When we're on the other side of the door, we both lean against it and breathe huge sighs of relief. Lily begins laughing and slides down the wall to a crouching position.

"What's so funny? I was so nervous out there. Look! My palms are sweating!"

Lily settles down a bit. "I hate to say I told you so, Rosie, but," her smirk is smug and annoying.

I shake my head at her. I remember her saying something along the lines of thinking that Scorpius and I would eventually get together.

"Well then, don't say it," I instantly revert to twelve and stick my tongue out at her.

She hops up and gives me a hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

"I'm happy too," I admit. And I really am. Thanks to my brother, I feel as if a huge burden has been lifted. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I want Bell to feel guilty about what she did to Hugo, but at least now she might understand my point of view a bit better.

And she does. She finds me later that day to apologize and insist that she won't hold a grudge against me. I feel as if I owe her an apology as well but she doesn't even let me finish.

"You can't help how you feel. I thank you for not doing anything behind my back, though. That really would have," she lets her words linger in the air and doesn't bother finishing her statement.

"I understand," I assure her.

"Anyway, I'm back to having a crush on Hugo," she smiles. "We're going to go on a date next weekend and we'll see how that goes."

I haven't seen her this happy in quite a while.

XXXX

That night I see Scorpius in the hallway. He acknowledges me with a wave but I walk straight up to him. With at least a dozen other students around, I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a kiss on the lips.

When I pull away, he looks slightly confused, but not at all angry or afraid. "I haven't talked to Bell yet," he tells me, looking around at the people staring, but I put a finger to his lips.

"Everything is going to be okay," I whisper. "Trust me."

That's all he needs to hear. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me in for another kiss. I don't care if everybody in the hall sees me. I don't care if, for the next few weeks, I hear whispers when I walk by. I don't care.

I can't remember the last time I've felt this at ease. I'm not even afraid of whatever bad thing might happen next. I'm positive that, with Scorpius by my side, nothing's going to be too terrible. How could it be?

XXXX

That's it for the eleventh chapter! Hope you enjoyed it. I think that the next chapter will be the last and it'll be a tying up of loose ends sort of deal. If there's something you want to see happen with any of the characters, let me know. I'll see what I can do for you.

Question: how many of you, when I made the "I love you" or "Olive juice" comment actually stopped and then mouthed it to yourself? I'm just curious. I totally did while I was writing that part. Like, fifty times, lol.

P.S. I know, this chapter was kind of lacking in the humor department. I just couldn't find very many opportunities for jokes, so it turned out a lot more serious than I had intended. Sorry if you're disappointed.

Thanks for reviewing! **bookluvr4life**, (Glad to hear that you agree that you don't hate me, lol. I hope you weren't disappointed by their return to school. I didn't want to keep them at home for this chapter, so I merely referenced Ron's reaction. Sorry if that's disappointing at all. Um… it leaves more for your imagination? Yeah, we'll go with that.) **PadfootPatronus**, (Hey, dude, don't let me ruin your dreams of Scorpius in a kilt. By all means, imagine it. I surely did, lol. I hope that was enough tension between Bell and Rose. I did the best I could. They're both rather laid back, not very confrontational girls so I had a little trouble making it too dramatic. Enjoy the snow for me! I've been living in California/Texas for the past two years so I haven't seen any of that for a while.) **happilycharmed**, (I can sympathize with being busy. Thank you so much for reviewing this last chapter, though. It was one of my favorites to write. Take care!) **princecharmprincesswit**, (Glad you think this story is nice! Thanks for the review.) **Arooma Ashraf**, (More kisses in this chapter! Not as silly as their first kiss, but still… I'm glad you mentioned the "I told you so" thing with Lily in your review because, honestly, that hadn't even occurred to me. I was stuck with what to do, but that helped me out. Thanks! P.S. I'm rather fond of my twelve years old self as well. Makes my life so much more amusing.) **Shiva'sGirl**, (Teehee, I'm glad that that made up for those awful cliffies I made ya'll suffer through.) **msfriday22** (Yeah, I see Rose as the kind of girl who likes to have fun and mess around but, when it comes down to it, she can act mature. Teehee, I had fun writing the snow scene. Glad you thought it was very romantic.) **Michelle Felton**, (Boys are silly. Even still, I'm a firm believer that every girl should own one. …Um, that's a joke. Sorta, lol. I hope things in that department work out for you. If not, enjoy being single! In my opinion, it's fantastic. Give me a year or so, though, and I'm sure I'll be back to whining about wanting a boyfriend. Hmm… Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!) **iluvtheoc3000**, (Mwahaha. My powers of persuasion are great, indeed. I convinced you that you love me, lol. Yeah, um, I pretty much love Scorpius to death I'm realizing as the story continues on. Glad to see that someone does actually read my comments at the end, by the way, and I'm glad that you enjoy them.) **AceCade**, (Thank you thank you!) **RedWingNut**, (Why, you are quite welcome. Ouch, braces, huh? I couldn't imagine. Did you guys need help getting them unstuck? I don't want to bring up any bad memories but, ohmigosh, I'd be so embarrassed, lol.) **JessFantasy16**, (Cool, it's like I can read minds! Or… maybe my writing is just predictable. Poop. Anyway, yeah, there was no way in heck I would let the two of them do that to poor Bell. The girl was going to be hurt enough.) **FollowingTheInkTrail**, (Why, thank you so much. I could feel my ego inflating as I read your review. P.S. Sorry that it took so long for this update! I just… got into a creative rut and couldn't work my way out of it. Hope you enjoyed it!) **LupinTonksLove**, (Thanks!) **Nalanilec**, (Wow, that's quite a compliment. Thank you so much. Yeah, the characters are based off of people I know, so they're pretty legitimate. It is a beautiful relationship. xsighx) **RafJK**, (I agree, they are quite the pair. P.S. In case you're wondering, that is definitely the job of a guy's best girl friend is the de-masculine-ization process, lol.) **wheeping.hearbeat**, (Oh, I get it now. You meant end the chapter. Oops. Shows how carefully I read… Thanks for the review! As for a sequel, I haven't thought about doing one. Maybe. We'll see.) **brokenstitches**, (Yeah, unfortunately, not all our very memorable experiences are 'movie perfect'. But, that's okay… Makes it more your own, not so generic. I have no idea what I'm babbling on and on about. Have a wonderful day. Take care!) **Missdagane**, (I heart suspense! It makes the story so much more dramatic, lol.) and **SoIGaveUp**, (I love that they're finally together, too. You actually gave me a good idea and got me out of a rut I was in. I didn't know what to do about Bell, and then you said about Nicholas and Austin, and I remembered Hugo. Thanks!)


	12. Memories and Future Plans

One of the Guys

Chapter Twelve: Memories and Future Plans

I'm sitting by myself in an empty classroom. The professor and the other students have long since left. I simply cannot move. I cannot believe it's over. Rather naively, I'd honestly thought that this would last forever. Now it's done too soon and I want it back.

I feel moisture on my cheek. Strange. I hadn't planned on crying about this, but as soon as I'm aware of the single tear, I can no longer hold back. I pull a tissue out of my pocket and dab at my eyes.

The door to the classroom opens. I stand up and walk over to the window. I don't care who it is. I don't want anybody to see me crying.

"Rose?"

I recognize the quiet voice.

"Hey Victor," I don't turn around. I hear him moving around behind me.

"I forgot something in here. I'm always forgetting things," I can tell he's smiling as he says this. "Are you okay, Rose?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. I'm just," I stop. I can't even explain how I am right now.

Victor walks up to stand next to me. "If I had to guess, I'd say you're feeling nostalgic," he declares.

I smile. "You're probably right. Can you believe it?" I turn my body so that I face him. "Seven years. We spent seven years here, and, after tonight, we'll probably never come back. Not unless we become professors."

"Yeah. Part of me is happy to go, but the other part of me is going to miss it here. Tell you what, though, I'm so glad that we're done with the N.E.W.T.s. Merlin that was the toughest thing ever. How do you think you did?" The words barely leave his lips when he shakes his head. "Wait. Don't answer that. I don't want to hear about how it was the easiest thing in your life."

We share a laugh. He's totally right, though. Thanks to my rigorous study sessions with Austin, he and I both got done with our exams feeling very confident about them. In fact, we treated ourselves to ice cream as soon as we finished. We'll get our results during the summer, but I'm not at all worried.

"By the way, I'm glad that I found you before you left. I wanted to thank you for always being so nice to me all these years," his face reddens. "I know I'm a bit of a screw-up. I'm always forgetting things, and I've never been very good with the spells, but ever since Day 1 you were always so patient and helpful. Thank you."

I lay my hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to thank me. We're friends, Victor. I was happy to help you all those times."

Victor smiles. "I'm so glad that I got to meet you. You're a beautiful person, inside and out," he puts his hand upon mine. "Don't ever lose that. Keep in touch, okay? I'm going to be really interested to see where your life takes you."

I nod. Admittedly, I've never been good at staying in contact with people before, but there's no reason I can't start now. He leaves and I'm alone again. I lean against the wall and look around.

This classroom. This classroom is the place where it all started. I close my eyes and imagine myself in my first year. I haven't quite grown into my bushy hair yet, and I have big front teeth, but I'm too young to care about how I look. (Sometimes, I miss not caring.) Sitting in a desk close to the front, I'm ready for the professor to begin teaching. A boy with blond hair and an angular face sits next to me. We both had just gotten over the flu, and now we're making up the classes we missed. Before now, the boy and I only ever talked to compare marks and maybe ask about assignments.

We study diligently for an hour and then it's time to practice one of the spells. _Petrificus totalus_. One spell gone wrong, one paralyzed professor, two children doubled over with laughter and five detentions later, I find that I have the most wonderful friend I could ever hope for.

Nostalgic. That's a good way to put it.

I'm not at all surprised when Scorpius comes strolling through the door. He doesn't say a word, just comes to stand next to me. We've never spoken about it, but ever since our first year it was always a sort of agreement that on the last day of school we would meet in this room. We've done it for six years, but this time, it's different. This is the last time.

"So," Scorpius starts.

But he doesn't continue.

I flick his ear.

"Hey!" He snaps his head toward me.

"Finish what you started, loser face. What were you going to say?"

He smirks. "Oh, I was going to say something along the lines of how sweet you are and I'm really glad I know you. You'd never do or say anything mean to me, and that's what I love about you. But, obviously, I was mistaken."

I smack his arm lightly. "You're too sensitive, Malfoy. Get over it," I tease. "And you do so love me. You love me, Scorpius, you love me!" My voice gets louder as I say this and I do my best impression of a smiling lunatic.

"Okay, psycho," he inches away from me.

Oh, I'm so good.

I giggle. "Really, though. What were you going to say?"

He pats me on the head. "Same thing I say every year, sweetheart," luckily for him, he loses the sarcasm in his voice before he continues speaking. "Back then, I never thought that we would ever be friends."

I smile and fall into step with this familiar conversation. "Our parents basically set us up to be rivals. My dad told me to beat you in every subject."

"And my dad told me the same thing."

We've said these same words ever since our first year.

"Nobody saw this coming. We probably shocked the hell out of our parents when we first told them that we became friends."

"And not just friends."

"Best friends."

It's been like this every year since we first met, but this is the part where this year is different.

"I love you, Rose. I always have."

"Yeah, I kind of like you, too."

He wipes a hand across his forehead. "Phew, I was worried that maybe you didn't like me at all. What a relief."

I smile. I'm so lucky. Scorpius has known me for so long that he doesn't ever get angry when I tease him like that. He knows it's just my little signs of affection.

Suddenly, a thought that I've been keeping out of my head for months pops up front and center. I turn so that we're facing each other and I lean in to give him a kiss. "I love you," I whisper.

Then I say it, the thing we've both been avoiding. "What's going to happen to us after we leave here?"

I know he's thought about it, and I sure as hell have, too. Well, I tried to anyway. Every time, though, it makes me sad. What if things aren't the same after we leave? What if we grow apart? I would always push the thoughts away. But now there's no time left. We need to talk about this.

He doesn't answer right away. Instead, he busies himself by examining my face and tucking a few rebellious strands of hair behind my ear.

"Well, obviously we're going to stay together," he says it with such certainty that my heart leaps in my chest. "We can both start working. We shouldn't have any problems getting jobs. There are a lot of options as to what we can do. Don't worry, we'll have a nice sit down talk with somebody about all of that as soon as we get the results for our N.E.W.T.s back."

I love that he keeps saying 'we.'

"Or," he begins. "Or we could do what you actually want to do."

I cock an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on Rose. I know that you don't actually want to go to work right away. You want travel for a few months, or live and study in a foreign country for a few years, don't you?"

You know what? Sometimes it's spooky how well he knows me.

"Absolutely I do," I reply. The ideal situation would be if I could travel and study abroad for a while before returning to find work in London.

"That's what I thought. And, what do you think, could I tag along as well? I think it'd be a pretty cool experience to do something like that. Plus, I sort of like spending time with you. I might be sad if I have to stay away from you for too long."

"You really would want to go with me?" I'm so excited just imagining it. I can picture us, two young lovers touring the world. How romantic. "We could do this, Scorpius. I think you and I could be in this for the 'long haul'. I actually don't like the way that sounds. It sounds like it's a burden or something, and that's not at all how I see our relationship. I just mean that I see our relationship lasting a long time," I ramble on and on until Scorpius presses his finger to my lips to silence me.

"I agree. And, the way I see it, after we do our traveling we get married."

What? Married?

My stomach doesn't just flip; it does an entire gymnastics routine in the span of two seconds. Wasn't expecting that! We've never even so much as joked about marriage. How is he just going to throw this out there now? Perhaps it is just a joke.

"Well, you know," I say, trying to remain calm. "If you really want to marry me, you're going to have to talk to my parents about it first."

"What makes you think I haven't already done that?"

True to Scorpius Malfoy's most irritating trait, he's doing an excellent job of concealing his emotions and it's impossible for me to tell whether or not he's serious.

"Well, even if you did, there's still the matter of the ring. As you're well aware, I'm a princess. And what do princesses get? That's right, princess cut diamonds."

The ring doesn't honestly mean that much to me, but I'm saying anything to try and shake him up.

"Perfect. And don't worry, I had a few opinions on the ring, so it's not hideous," he winks at me.

For a full minute, I don't say a word. I only look at him and try to read his face. "I don't believe you," I finally declare. "You're teasing me."

"If you insist," he smirks and won't look me in the eyes.

"Scorpius."

"Rose."

We stand in silence for a long while and he still won't look at me. "You know what?" He starts walking toward the door. "It's about time to get something to eat."

My stomach growls as if on cue. "Fine. But don't think that we're done with this conversation."

"Of course not," he shakes his head as if he really wants to add 'you silly girl' to the end of that statement. "We're going to continue this. Later."

My eyes light up. "I have a great idea! We could make a pros and cons list," I suggest.

He glares at me but has some trouble concealing his grin.

I'm satisfied. I really don't think that Scorpius would go and actually buy a ring without first talking to me about the prospect of marriage. I'm not saying that it would be terrible if he did, but I'm positive that he's more considerate. He'll want to talk about it before we decide anything. That was just his cruel and unusual way of breaking the proverbial ice.

Slipping my hand into his, we walk down to the Great Hall together. This will be our last meal at Hogwarts.

XXXX

I take a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table. Has it really been seven years already? I think about all the people I've met. I wonder if I'll be able to keep in touch with them in the years to come. I surely hope so.

My eyes wander around the room. I spot Austin at the same time he happens to look my way. He flashes a smile and waves to me. I'm sad that it took so long for us to become friends, but I'm happy that I did finally meet him. Regardless of whether or not he'll ever realize it, he helped me through a very difficult time in my life. By respecting what I said to him, he helped me stay focused so that I didn't drive myself crazy. For that, I will always be grateful.

Next, my gaze falls upon Lily. She's telling an extremely animated tale to Hugo, Bell, Zack, Nicholas, and a few other Gryffindors. It isn't until I hear Nicholas shout "And then we won!" that I realized she was reliving the Gryffindor Quiddich team's victory. It was a fantastic match, and I'm a little sorry that we had to beat Slytherin like that. Okay, so I'm not sorry at all and I definitely rubbed it in my boyfriend's face for about five minutes afterward. That was enough to get my point across.

Lily and Zack are still together. For being so young, they're an extremely functional couple. It's as if they know the secret of how not to get sick of one another. It's amazing.

Bell and Hugo started dating around the beginning February. They seem to be doing pretty well, and I'm glad. Bell truly is a sweetheart, and much too wonderful to ever hold a grudge against Scorpius or me.

As for Nicholas, well… Nicholas and I were awkward around each other for only a couple Quiddich practices. After we won a match, however, we realized something. We are meant to be friends. We always were Quiddich buddies, and we will always be Quiddich buddies. Not to mention we also like to swap books now. He got me interested in some things I otherwise would never even have noticed in a bookstore and I opened his eyes to the wonderful world of Books That Make Rose Weasley Happy. He isn't dating anybody at school, but I'm not worried about him. He's a quality guy. One day some lucky girl is going to be very happy with him.

As I continue scanning the faces of my fellow student, I realize something. I have made some truly amazing friends over they years. I'm sad that we'll all be going our separate ways.

XXXX

Scorpius and I use our seniority to get a compartment all to ourselves on the Hogwarts Express. Hey, don't judge me. It's the last chance I'll get to flex my 'I'm a Seventh Year and you're only in your First Year' muscle. Besides, he and I have a few private matters to discuss.

I hand my book bag to Scorpius so that he can place it in the overhead compartment. My amazingly coordinated boyfriend, however, drops it. My things spill everywhere.

"Sorry," he bends down and immediately begins putting things back into my bag.

That's when I notice that my puzzle box is on the floor. Strange. I thought I packed that in my other bag. I pick it up.

"Hey, is that the box that Austin made for you?" Scorpius inquires.

"Sure is," I look at it suspiciously. How odd.

"May I try?"

I nod.

He picks it up and shakes it slightly. There's something inside. Weird. I've been using it as a jewelry box, but I thought it was empty. I put my hand to my neck and feel the only necklace that I own. I look down at my hand and see all of my rings. I'm also wearing a bracelet and a watch. That's all of my jewelry. Nothing else should be in that box. Unless…

Ohmigosh.

Scorpius opens it, looks inside, and smiles. He looks at me.

Ohmigosh.

"Rose," he gets down on his knee.

Ohmigosh.

"Will you," he says slowly.

OHMIGOSH!

"Will you take this ring?"

I take a look inside the box and I am absolutely stunned.

Scorpius snickers and I roll my eyes.

Inside of the box is an orange spider ring. Don't worry. That wasn't completely a jerk thing to do. If you ignore the fact that he almost gave me a heart attack, it's actually pretty funny. You see I actually gave him that ring on Halloween, once upon a time ago, as one of my amazing gifts. I haven't seen it in years.

"Well, will you?"

I kiss him on the forehead. "Sure, why not?"

He sits back down. "You have no idea what I had to go through to give that ring to you," he says with as much smugness as he can muster. "It was hard to give up. It has a lot of sentimental value."

"I bet," I say, a huge smile on my face.

"Your expression was priceless, by the way. A look of utter shock."

"Well that's because I almost expected to see a diamond ring in there. But I didn't think you would go and do something like that without talking to me first."

"You're right. I wouldn't. Tell me honestly, though. Were you relieved or disappointed?" He asks.

"Hmm?"

"Were you relieved or disappointed that it wasn't the real thing?"

I ponder this for a while. "A little bit of both, I guess," I'm surprised by my answer. That's good to know. On the one hand, I'm not ready to get married yet. I need to do a little bit of living first, you know?"

"Oh, definitely," he agrees. "Honestly, I think that we're both a bit too young yet."

"Then again, if we did get married, it wouldn't be the most awful thing in the world."

"Gee, I'm glad that you look at it like that. You sure know how to make a guy feel special."

"What can I say? It's a gift."

He pinches my sides in what I'm going to call an affectionate manner.

In the next instant, however, his face becomes completely serious. "I promised your dad that if I do ask you to marry me, it would be once I have a steady job and am able to provide for a family."

I nod. "That sounds reasonable. That would definitely be smarter, and that way we'll have plenty of time to make sure that we- Wait a minute. You promised my dad? Did you actually talk to my parents about this?"

His smile answers me.

"When?"

"Oh, you know. Christmas time. The day we came back to school."

"You didn't!"

"I did. I walked straight up to your dad, said 'Mr. Weasley, I'm in love with your daughter. I know we're both young, but I truly think that she's the one for me. I won't ask for your blessing now because I don't have any intention of getting married anytime soon, but I just want you to know that I fully intend to stay with Rose for a long time. I plan to ask her to marry me in a few years. I'll talk to you about this again when marriage seems more realistic.' Well, that's the general idea behind what I said to him."

"And how did he react?" I'm on the edge of my seat with anticipation.

"Well, let me put it this way. I'm really glad that your mum was with us too. Otherwise, I'm almost positive that your dad would have dragged me to a dark corner and made it to look like a mugger got a hold of me," he looks at me and sees my eyes widen. "I'm just kidding, Rose. I won't tell you exactly what he said, it's sort of a man to man thing, but he did insist that the both of us have jobs before we get married."

"That sounds like my dad. Actually, so did the first thing you said," I giggle. "How did mum react?"

"She was really excited, of course. Your mum loves me."

I roll my eyes. Still, I can't deny that it's the truth.

"Did you say anything to your parents?" I ask.

"Oh, of course. Mum approves. Dad didn't say much, but he's definitely not opposed to the idea. He really likes you. If anything, he's looking forward to sitting down with you again and talking for hours on end about books you've both read while I bake cookies with mum."

I give my most innocent smile. "Sorry," I say slowly. "But that only happened once," I defend myself.

During the winter holiday, I went over to the Malfoy's. Astoria had mentioned something about baking cookies with her but, as I was giving the books I'd borrowed back to Draco, we just started talking about them. The next thing I knew, the sweet scent of delicious goodness was wafting into the room as Scorpius carried a plate of cookies and a couple glasses of milk. Oh, did I mention he was wearing an apron? Yeah. He put that on for dramatic effect.

We share a laugh about the memory. It's very comforting to know that his parents do like me.

"So, about this marriage business. We don't have to talk about it too seriously right now, but it is something to think about. I just want you to know that I am serious about us."

I smile. "Let's just enjoy the time we have together. Once we get jobs and figure out what we want to do with our lives, then we can go back and talk to my dad."

He kisses the tip of my nose. "I'm looking forward to enjoying our time together. No matter where we might go."

He settles back into his seat.

My heart is racing. I love this boy so much. And do you know something? For as frustrated as I got when things didn't go my way this year, for as much as I just wanted to scream every time the thought crossed my mind that we would never be more than friends, for as sad as I was when I was just one of the guys, I will always be thankful that that's how our relationship happened. It wasn't easy. It took a lot of work. There were many rough patches along the way, but I learned to take the good in with the bad. And it all turned out perfectly. All of these things, they make me appreciate and value our friendship and our love so much more.

"Scorpius?"

"Hmm?"

"You know, if you would have asked me for real, I would have said yes."

He doesn't respond. He doesn't have to. We both just… We just know.

XXXX

THAT'S IT FOR THIS STORY! I'm actually sad to see it end. I had so much fun writing it!

Question: Were you worried at the beginning of this chapter when Rose was sad and talking about it being over? Did you think maybe Scorpius and Rose had broken up? I'm cruel, I tried to make it seem that way.

P.S. Yeah, I totally stole that fake proposal move from The Office. I heart that show like you wouldn't believe. Teehee, my friends actually called me Pam for the longest time and then called my friend Jim (the friend I based this story's relationship off of, as a matter of fact). If you don't watch The Office, I'm afraid the reference is lost. Watch The Office! It's amazing! I love it! (Teehee, 'Absolutely I do.')

By the by, if you enjoyed this, and might want to read more of my Rose/Scorpius stories, add me to your Author Alert. I've got a few new ideas rolling around in my head. I just have to pick one and actually commit to it. Anyway, keep an eye out for me.

Thanks to everybody who reviewed! You are all so amazing! Special thanks to **happilycharmed** without whom this story probably would have stopped at chapter one.

Thanks! **RavenclawAmber**, (Fortunately, Bell gets her happy ending as well. Um, a definite end in sight? You just read it. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews.) **Hagger10**, (I knew someone would!) **PadfootPatronus**, (Yeah, totally don't miss that aspect of the snow. You know… cold. Brr. I'm glad you were pleased with the little bit of drama between the girls. Haha, I didn't expect to see anymore 'Poor Rose' reviews after I got done with my abuse of the girl, but your sarcastic one definitely made me smile. Take care!) **Ninelli**, (Teehee.) **Shiva's Girl**, (Thank you so much! Hope you liked this last part as well.) **princecharmprincesswit**, (Cheers! Teehee, I figured I'd get some people to mouth that part. Take care!) **iluvheoc3000**, (Absolutely. Thank you so much for telling me about the wondrous boy who is Mitch Hewer. I think that he will be who I think of from now on while writing Scorpius. Gorgeous boy. Anyway, yeah… I'm all about the happy endings.) **JessFantasy16**, (That was an awesome metaphor, and it made me giggle. Yeah, I can't decide about an epilogue. On the one hand, it would be totally awesome to see how they turn out. Or… yeah, it would be overdoing it. Hmm. Maybe I'll make a pros and cons list, lol.) **trobairiz**, (That does take a lot of stress off things, doesn't it? I'm glad they're public with it too.) **LupinTonksLove**, (Yeah… That was my master plan from the beginning… Um, okay, that's not true. That was all last minute, 'Oh yeah, Hugo exists and Bell used to have a crush on him' and that's how that happened. I am glad that I reread that, though, otherwise I'd have been stumped on how to deal with Bell.) **xKristinax**, (Lol, yeah, it was rather random.) **gggirliegirl**, (Wow, thanks for the awesome compliment! Glad you like how I tied it all together.) **FollowingTheInkTrail**, (I'm a fan of the fluffy, sappy stuff as well. Yeah, I started the replying to reviews thing a long time ago. Then I discovered the actual 'reply' button on the review. But… uh… I fear change. Sometimes I'll send private messages. Anyway, olive juice too, lol.) **RedWingNut**, (Very uncomfortable, indeed. Glad to hear that the braces kiss turned out okay. Did you tell the orthodontist what exactly happened? Actually, he/she had probably seen that many times before, lol. Take care!) **I-Heart-Werewolves**, (Teehee, thank you.) **itsmeadriana**, (Teehee, I guess it would look a bit more aggressive. I considered giving Nicholas a love interest, but then I'd have to fabricate another character. I hope that he way I chose to go with that didn't disappoint you. Oh yeah… I definitely intended to add the Malfoys to that chapter, but I forgot. Hopefully I made up for it with this chapter.) **oiiy**, (Simply. Thank you.) **bookluvr4life**, (Wonderful. I hope you enjoyed the Ron part of this chapter as well. Take care!) **TheCluelessAzn**, (Haha, it's okay. As for how I came up with the I love you/olive juice thing, well… Someone mouthed 'olive juice' to me when I was a kid. Then they kindly explained that they weren't saying 'I love you.' Sad story.) **Raf**, (I love replying to my reviewers! Haha, with my luck, I would have started saying 'I love you' and 'olive juice' to myself in the mirror and my roommate would walk in on me. Awkward. Your review made me giggle with the 'love pentagon/cube/sphere thingy' reference. Yeah. That love polygon was quite exciting to write. Take care!) and **britardobot**, (Yeah, I figured people might actually admit to mouthing that part if I asked about it. Thank you so much for the review!)

Much love! Take care!


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